Sunrisers Hyderabad continued their strong comeback from early losses in the initial weeks of IPL 2022 with an impressive victory over Punjab Kings. The 2016 champions overpowered their opponents with pace and middle-order strength on what was a relatively dry surface at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai.
The ‘Orange Army’ won the toss and opted to bowl to put PBKS under pressure to put a sizable score on the board against their bowling prowess. It was a task that proved too difficult for even the lengthy and power-packed batting unit such as PBKS, as their Indian quicks Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umran Malik shared seven wickets between them.
Bhuvneshwar delivered a terrific spell of three for 22 off his four overs, nailing it once again inside the powerplay overs and also at the death. The right-arm seamer bagged the crucial wickets of Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone and Shahrukh Khan. The wicket of the Englishman, batting 60 off 32 at the time, was the most critical one as it meant he and PBKS’ lone warrior couldn’t finish off his assault against Malik.
Relishing that cushion provided by his senior partner, Umran bowled a sensational final over where he took three wickets without giving away a run. In total, the Sunrisers bagged four lower-order breakthroughs, including a run-out, to finish off their superb bowling effort and dismiss PBKS for a measly score of 151.
Apart from the wickets, what stood out about Malik’s over and his spell as a whole was the control the pacer maintained at his astonishingly high speeds to end with figures of four for 28. Left-arm spinner Jagadeesha Suchith (1/28) also bowled a fine spell for SRH.
Setting themselves up for consistently high-geared batting, PBKS didn’t have the best of times in the middle. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals and needed a tremendous innings from Livingstone to inch past the 150-run mark. Walking in at No.4 with PBKS 33 for two, which soon became 61 for four, the explosive right-hander stuck to his guns and tried his best to keep PBKS competitive.
In the run-chase, SRH began shakily, losing their skipper Kane Williamson early with only 13 runs on the board inside the first four overs. But a solid partnership with Rahul Tripathi (34) and Abhishek Sharma (31) helped the team keep their noses ahead in the larger game perspective. Tripathi continued his superb run for the tournament and allowed SRH to stay ahead of the asking rate.
His dismissal in the ninth over followed that of Sharma not too long from then. But in a rejuvenated batting unit from the last season, SRH had enough in the arsenal to continue pushing in the ascendency. Overseas duo Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran combined excellently in another important partnership for their side and reached home with more than an over to spare and seven wickets intact.
While Markram hit a 27-ball 41 not out in a freeflowing innings where he played the aggressor, Pooran anchored his way to an unbeaten 35 off 30 deliveries to together script the downfall for PBKS.
Punjab had all hopes rested on their weaker suit – bowling – after an insipid effort by their stronger hand, and that was bound to hurt the side, with only Kagiso Rabada (1/29) and Rahul Chahar (2/28) ending with figures of respectability. Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh (0/32), too, bowled with very good control. But lack of runs on the board meant the trio of Rabada, Chahar and Arshdeep were fighting a lost cause.
Brief scores
Punjab Kings 151 all out in 20 overs (Livingstone 60; Malik 4/28, Kumar 3/22) lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad 152/3 in 18.5 overs (Markram 41*, Pooran 35*; Chahar 2/28) by 7 wickets
