Abhishek Sharma emerged out as the hero once again as Sunrisers Hyderabad overcame a sprightly performance from a depleted Punjab Kings side, that fielded just one foreign player in their eleven, as they made light work of a chase of 215 led by Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen. Not nearly enough to halt the batting juggernaut that SRH have been in IPL 2024.
Abhishek Sharma once again proved that he is now ready to play for Indian National colors atleast in T20I format in near future. Thanks to Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi, who hit 66 off 28 and 33 off 18 respectively, propelling the team to 84 for 2 at the end of their first six overs after losing dangerous Travis Head on the first ball of the SRH innings.
Pitch and Toss
Pitch report: 66m square boundaries, 78m down the ground. A lot of runs on offer, there’s no grass on the surface, the ball will spin later. A few cracks on the wicket. Looks like a belter, SRH would like to end this league stage with another big score, reckons Brian Lara. The captain winning the toss might elect to bat.
Punjab King skipper Jitesh Sharma won the toss and chose to bat with Rilee Rossouw the only foreign player to play in playing XI. Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins made only one change bringing in Rahul Tripathi bowling first for Jaydev Unadkat.
Prabhsimran and Taide’s opening mayhem in Powerplay puts SRH on backfoot
PBKS had reason to hope they would get a closing win for this season, though, and finish outside the bottom two, mainly because of the start they had in the game. Prabhsimran was outstanding on the leg side, hitting all his four sixes there in his 71 off 45. Taide made 46 off 27.
Punjab Kings’ decision to bat first even when there was a bit of rain around paid off well. Both Atharva Taide and Prabhsimran Singh showed some much-needed panache up top on a pitch that did not hold too many demons. Singh started getting back-to-back boundaries off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, albeit one of it being off an inside edge. But both Taide and him were punishing off anything short off length, pinging the onside boundaries with pulls. The flurry ensured that Punjab Kings went into the middle overs with a solid foundation.
Rilee Rossouw and Prabhsimran carries the momentum in the middle overs.
The duo were adept when spin came into play as well. Taide tonked Viyaskanth for a six over midwicket and Singh followed suit against Shahbaz Ahmed. Just as both neared their fifties, Taide fell against the run of play mistiming a cut off T Natarajan to backward point. Even as the 97-run stand came to an end, the momentum didn’t abate.
For Rilee Rossouw got going with a pulled boundary off a free hit and followed it up with a six against Nitish Reddy. Singh, meanwhile brought up a well-earned half-century with a six, which was a recurrent feature with the spinners in operation. He was unfortunate to get out on 71 with some deflection off the pad and then the glove but his role as enforcer was neatly transitioned to a well-set Rossouw.
There was something of a slowdown after VijayKanth Viyaskanth, the young leg spinner from Jaffna, took Prabhsimran’s wicket in the 15th over.
Stand in skipper Jitesh Sharma carries PBKS TO 214 in 20 overs
Punjab nearly lost their way in this period with SRH bringing up a good fielding show. First Nitish Reddy effected the run-out of Shashank Singh off his own bowling and Sanvir Singh took an excellent catch to send Ashutosh Sharma packing.
Pat Cummins and Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled successive overs where they gave away only six each. But it was bookended by two big overs, first where Nitish Reddy was taken for 15 and then in the final over where he was taken for 19 with skipper Jitesh Sharma hitting a four and two successive sixes to take PBKS to 214.
Although Jitesh finished strong, perhaps overs 15 to 18 (both inclusive) was when PBKS lost their way. They had been 151 for 1 at the start of that passage, looking poised to push 250. By the end of the 18th over, they were 186 for 5.
Abhishek Sharma lights up Hyderabad one last time in IPL 2024
Punjab got the bowling going on the right note with Arshdeep Singh sneaking under the dangerous Travis Head’s defence first ball. But it was carnage thereafter as both Rahul Tripathi and Abhishek Sharma took turns to lay into some mediocre bowling. Harshal Patel gave away 22 in five balls before he managed to get Tripathi. But with four fours and two sixes in an 18-ball knock, Tripathi had already done a good job.
In what was their last home game this season, Abhishek Sharma gave the SRH faithful a show to remember a batting-powered season by. Abhishek Sharma smashed his first two sixes over fine leg, when bowlers delivered short-of-a-length balls into the body, and went on to hit six sixes in all, in addition to five fours. Most of these relied on excellent timing, but there was luck there too – one of the sixes came off the outside edge.
Abhishek Sharma sped past 50 off 21 balls, but this was only his third-fastest half-century this season – he had hit fifties off 16 and 19 balls in the weeks gone by. Abhishek Sharma’s 72-run partnership with Tripathi, which came off 29 balls, was the foundation of SRH’s chase. Even after they were parted, the required rate seemed tame.
Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Reddy kept the momentum going in middle overs after Rahul Tripathi’s wicket
Like Punjab, SRH did not allow their momentum to dip at any point. Abhishek Sharma brought up a 21-ball fifty with back-to-back boundaries off Shahbaz Ahmed, and saw that his partner Nitish Reddy keep up to the task with crucial boundaries off Rahul Chahar, who had started off with a boundary-less over.
While Abhishek Sharma fell first slicing Shashank Singh’s first ball to deep point, Heinrich Klaasen came in to start off on top gear with sixes off both Chahar and Harpreet Brar. Reddy fell with the reintroduction of Harshal Patel, slicing to point but his 37 off 25 was a handy knock in two partnerships worth 47 and 57 with Klaasen and Abhishek Sharma respectively. It left SRH needing just 33 off the last five overs.
Klaasen plays a measured innings as SRH rises to 2nd spot in the Playoffs
Presentations and Road Ahead
Jitesh Sharma the loosing skipper said : It was fun out there. The boys fought really hard and we enjoyed a lot. Nice game without the overseas players. The discussion won’t help till you imply on the ground. We have to play according to the wicket and plan accordingly.
Pat Cummins the winning skipper said : It’s pretty cool, it’s awesome. We have won 6 out of 7 here, it has been great and amazing. I didn’t know many guys coming into this season, but we have played great cricket and had some fun. Great bunch of guys. He (Abhishek) is amazing. I wouldn’t want to bowl to him.
It’s scary as he plays with freedom, not only against pacers but also against spinners. Nitish is a class player, looks mature beyond his age, seems to sum up the game really well, he is perfect for our top-order. Really satisfying and exciting. I haven’t played in finals before, we’ll know in a few hours which game it is. Playing some really good cricket, excited for what’s ahead.
Abhishek Sharma for his fiery runs won Player of the Match said : It’s a matter of time for any batsman. My days are going good so I should utilize it for my team. I wanted to contribute as the target was big today. I think I have told this before, during SMAT I was clear how I was going to play and dominate (during IPL).
He (Lara) was our coach as well, have done some work with him, he’s in touch. That’s helping me now. Just waiting for the loose balls, I am going hard against them and trying to put them (bowlers) under pressure.
I was talking to Nitish, the more I was waiting it was getting easier for me. I was ready for that (playing against Harshal). I was trying to take a single but fortunately got a boundary (one of the balls.) I want to thank the crowd, special mention to pitch curator and groundsmen. They have given pitches that have suited our style.
Sunrisers Hyderabad jump to the second spot in the points table as a result of this clinical win. Punjab Kings played brilliantly earlier in the day as their top three batters – all of them clicked. Taide and Rossouw played lovely knocks, while Prabhsimran scored 70-odd as the Kings finished with a daunting total of 214/5. With the kind of form Sunrisers Hyderabad batters have been in, the target wasn’t going to challenge them.
They did lose Travis Head in the first over of the run chase, however, Abhishek and Tripathi counterattacked in the powerplay and shifted the pressure back on the Punjab bowlers. Nitish Reddy and Klaasen chipped in with pivotal knocks and although they lost a few wickets towards the end, they got over the line in the final over. The result of the next game decides whether it’s Sunrisers or Rajasthan to join KKR for Qualifier 1.
SRH now move into second on the points table. That they would finish their and play the Qualifier 1 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was confirmed after Rajasthan Royals’ last league match against KKR in Guwahati was washed out.