Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) destructive right-handed batter Heinrich Klaasen played a fascinating knock & set a target of 236 for Punjab Kings (PBKS). It was a collective effort of SRH‘s batting unit who peaked & dazzled. Heinrich Klaasen played the role of anchor as well as aggressor in this match.
SRH off to a flyer in powerplay overs
PBKS had no hesitation in bowling first, given that the surface was no less than a batting paradise. Abhishek Sharma unleashed an attack on Arshdeep Singh in the very first over, and on the second delivery, he smashed an inside-out six over covers. The surface being placid, even Marco Jansen was taken to the cleaners, where he conceded 21 runs in his second over.
It seemed as if book cricket was going on as Travis Head was also cleanly hitting boundaries. At the end of 3 overs, SRH’s score was 48-0. The introduction of Lockie Ferguson in the 4th over stopped the flow of boundaries; Lockie cramped Abhishek (35 in 13 smashed 2 fours and 4 sixes) for room as his shot at long off didn’t clear the rope as Shreyas Iyer took a catch, SRH’s score was 54-1 in 3.3 overs. Travis Head was unaffected by Abhishek Sharma’s departure. SRH managed to score a whopping 79-1 in 6 overs
Ishan Kishan’s whirlwind knock & PBKS’ sloppy fielding in middle overs
Travis Head (38 in 19, hitting 3 fours and 3 sixes) was foxed by Yuzvendra Chahal in the 7th over as the extra flight deceived him. It was quite shocking to see that Ishan Kishan was dropped on 9 by Cooper Connolly on the bowling of Ferguson in the 8th over, as it was quite a sitter.
In the 9th over, Heinrich Klaasen got a life at 9 & this time it was Shashank Singh who dropped a catch on the bowling of Chahal. In the 11th over, again Ishan Kishan was given a reprieve, and this time by Lockie Ferguson on the bowling of Yuzvendra Chahal in the 11th over. It seemed as if PBKS’ fielders lacked confidence with so many catches being misjudged or dropped. On the last ball of the 11th over, Prabhsiran Singh missed the stumping of Ishan when he was on 20 runs.
Heinrich Klaasen & Ishan Kishan then made PBKS pay. Ishan Kishan took on Vijaykumar Vyshak as his pace off deliveries weren’t being that effective, as Ishan smashed 3 humongous sixes. Klaasen made sure that the scoreboard kept ticking on. In the 15th over, Ishan Kishan’s (55 in 32, smashing 2 fours and 4 sixes) luck didn’t last long as Suryansh Shegde took his catch at deep mid-wicket. SRH’s score was 174-3 in 15 overs
Heinrich Klaasen pummelled SRH in the death overs
Marco Jansen was shown no mercy by Heinrich Klaasen & Nitish Reddy, whose around-the-wicket and over-the-wicket tactics weren’t that productive. Jansen conceded a mind-boggling 61 in 4 overs and was wicketless. It was quite tough for PBKS’ bowlers to find an appropriate line & length as the wicket had hardly anything in it for pacers, especially.
Lockie Ferguson was changing the line & length and variations quite smartly. In the 18th over, Ferguson cramped Klaasen for room as well as nailed leg stump yorkers; the flow of boundaries stopped despite conceding 13 runs, which wasn’t that bad in the context of IPL. SRH scored 61 runs in the last 5 overs. Heinrich Klaasen played a barnstorming knock of 69 runs in 43 balls & whacked 3 fours and 4 sixes.
Who’s winning, SRH or PBKS
236 is undoubtedly a match-winning target in T20 cricket, but we have seen no total safe in IPL this edition. PBKS would be backing Prabhsimran Singh & Priyansh Arya to lay a robust foundation at the start. SRH’s skipper Pat Cummins’ spell would be defining in this encounter. PBKS are slight favorites given dew can make bowling tough, but a win for SRH can take them to the top of the points table.
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