Sunrisers Hyderabad Edge Punjab Kings in a Dramatic Two-Run Thriller

<> Sunrisers Hyderabad Snatch Thrilling Two-Run Victory

Sunrisers Hyderabad Snatch Thrilling Two-Run Victory

By CricGPT

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) pulled off a dramatic two-run victory over Punjab Kings (PBKS) in a pulsating encounter at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday. Defending a modest total of 182, SRH held their nerve in a nail-biting finish to secure their third win of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.

Ashutosh and Shashank Provide the Thrills

The heroes of Punjab's previous win, Ashutosh Sharma and Shashank Singh, almost pulled off an encore with an exhilarating hitting display at the death. Facing a daunting equation of 29 runs off the final over, Jaydev Unadkat bowled three wides and witnessed three dropped catches, two of which sailed over the ropes.

Ashutosh's brute power was complemented by Shashank's astute strokeplay. Shashank struck three boundaries off Bhuvneshwar Kumar when the equation stood at 67 off the final four overs. Ashutosh then powered a couple of boundaries off Pat Cummins to keep Punjab in the hunt.

Despite two boundaries, only 10 runs came off the penultimate over bowled by T Natarajan, setting the stage for a thrilling finish. Unadkat's final over proved to be a rollercoaster, but SRH ultimately held on to secure a hard-fought victory.

Arshdeep Helps Punjab Ace Powerplay

Earlier in the match, Punjab had a decent start after winning the toss. Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh had an opening spell to remember, dismissing both Travis Head and Aiden Markram in the space of three balls.

Head was fortunate to survive an early LBW appeal, but Arshdeep made amends by having him miscue a big hit that was well taken by Shikhar Dhawan. Arshdeep then angled one across Markram, who nicked behind to give the pacer figures of 2-8 in his first spell.

PBKS Chip Away

Despite Arshdeep's early strikes, SRH kept going hard, with Abhishek Sharma leading the charge. He struck Sam Curran for a four and a six but fell to a good catch at cover point. With SRH at 39/3 in five overs, they opted to bolster their batting by subbing out Head for Rahul Tripathi.

However, Tripathi struggled to get going against Harshal Patel, who eventually picked him up. Curran pushed for a review against Tripathi's attempted upper-cut and was proved right as the batter was found to have nicked behind.

Things took a turn for the worse for SRH when Heinrich Klaasen mistimed a loft off Harshal and holed out to long off.

Nitish Reddy Turns it Around

Just when the innings seemed to be going nowhere at 100/5, SRH found two youngsters answering their distress call. 20-year-old Nitish Reddy, who had been thrust in early at No. 4, initially struggled to find his rhythm.

However, with counterattack as the fallback option, Reddy and Abdul Samad proceeded to take apart PBKS in the middle overs. Reddy's last 19 balls saw him hit three fours and five sixes, racing away to a well-earned fifty. Samad, at the other end, picked up four boundaries off Harshal Patel and played his part in a 50-run stand that came off just 20 balls.

Blow for Blow at the Finish Line

The final four overs saw SRH lose three crucial wickets but also manage 32 runs, with Shabaz Ahmed and Jaydev Unadkat managing crucial boundaries. In between, Arshdeep finished off as he started with a double-wicket over that saw him get both the set batters.

The eventual target of 183 ended up as a competitive one even as dew began to settle in.

SRH Choke PBKS in the Powerplay

Punjab Kings ended up with the lowest powerplay total of the season with just 27 coming in the first six overs. Skipper Pat Cummins set the tone by getting Jonny Bairstow bowled for a duck in his first over.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar complemented that with two strikes - first getting Prabhsimran Singh to miscue a big hit and then having Shikhar Dhawan stumped thanks to Heinrich Klaasen's sharp glovework. At 20/3, the chase appeared to have derailed early, but Punjab Kings managed to keep hitting back.

A Cluster of Cameos

Punjab's riposte to the early breaks came in the form of more bluster from the middle order. First, Sam Curran hit a couple of fours and as many sixes before he fell for 29 with Cummins taking a good overhead catch.

But Sikandar Raza continued the good work, matching Curran's boundary-count in his 22-ball 28, while Jitesh Sharma scored a quick 19. However, both Raza and Jitesh fell in quick succession, leaving Punjab Kings with an uphill task of chasing 69 in 27 balls, which was turned into a nail-biter by the brilliance of Ashutosh and Shashank.

Brief Scores:

Sunrisers Hyderabad 182/9 in 20 overs (Nitish Reddy 64; Arshdeep Singh 4-29) beat Punjab Kings in 20 overs 180/6 (Shashank Singh 46*, Ashutosh Sharma 33*) by 2 runs

What Next?

Punjab Kings stay at home and have a three-day gap before Rajasthan Royals come visiting on April 13, while Sunrisers Hyderabad have a bigger break for five days before they travel to Bengaluru to take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 15.