Sports

Punjab Kings’s Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma nearly pull off a heist against SRH

April 10, 2024
S K Mittal

Pat Cummins leads from the front as Sunrisers Hyderabad bounce back from a top-order wobble to post a competitive total before surviving last-over drama to secure a narrow win

He has captained Australia to world titles in the Test and 50-over formats, which persuaded the decision-makers at Sunrisers Hyderabad to hand him the reins of the franchise. Pat Cummins leads from the front, and did so again, as his spell of 1/22 bowling in the Powerplay and at other crucial stages, took the team to its first away win of the season, against Punjab Kings.

Cummins also marshalled his resources expertly, which left the hosts to get 29 in the final over bowled by Jaydev Unadkat. It should have been a done deal but three dropped catches, two of them parried for sixes, injected some jeopardy in the situation. In the end, the veteran left-arm seamer just about managed to have his wits around him as Sunrisers edged home by two runs.

The win was fashioned, to a large extent, by their skipper, who set up the game with a probing opening spell in tandem with Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Chasing 183, Punjab Kings were chasing the game at 27/3 after the Powerplay. Cummins had sent back Jonny Bairstow, whose ugly swipe across the line met only thin air as the ball made contact with the top of middle stump. Bhuvneshwar then got rid of Impact Player Prabhsimran Singh before the SRH captain brought wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen up to the stumps to prevent Shikhar Dhawan advancing down the pitch. When the left-hander couldn’t help himself, he ran past one angled across him to be stumped.

The overseas duo of Sam Curran and Sikandar Raza got together and seemed to get Punjab Kings back into the game, only for the SRH skipper to make another decisive intervention, taking an excellent catch, backpedalling and jumping at mid-on to get rid of the Englishman.

It was the story of the chase as whenever Punjab Kings seemed to get any sort of momentum, they lost a wicket. It showed that Cummins always had a finger on the pulse of the game. The last over may have tested his nerves, but he showed a calm demeanour to ensure that Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma, heroes of Punjab Kings’ heist against Gujarat Titans, didn’t manage an encore.

Festive offer

Speeding on tricky terrain

It’s amazing what a bit of help for the bowlers does for a cricketing contest. Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have espoused an ultra-aggressive approach, were found out in the Powerplay by some high-quality pace bowling from Arshdeep Singh and Kagiso Rabada in Mullanpur. Though it was the Indian left-arm seamer who came away with a four-wicket haul on Tuesday, Rabada set the early template. He should have had Travis Head caught behind on the first ball of the match, only if Punjab Kings had challenged the not-out decision. The Australian left-hander survived the opening over more by luck than design, and his first two boundaries came courtesy the outside edge and the inside edge. The conditions should have prompted the visitors to tone down their method a bit, but that’s not how they play. Head went for a big shot, but the ball skewed off the outside edge due to the swing, and was caught excellently by a back-pedalling Dhawan. Then Aiden Markram edged one that moved away to the wicketkeeper.

That double setback only made Abhishek Verma, who has been enjoying a productive tournament, go harder, but after a stunning off-driven six and a lazy aerial flick, the youngster got a bit greedy and perished. Impact Player Rahul Tripathi, who may not have expected to be involved, was not quite up to the pace of proceedings. It forced Klaasen, the anointed finisher, to come in with more than half of the innings left to be negotiated. He didn’t stay long and Sunrisers were reduced to 100/5 with only seven overs left.

When SRH’s batting comes off, like it did against Mumbai Indians at home, they can almost overshoot the moon, but otherwise it puts a lot of pressure on their lower-middle order, like it did against Punjab Kings. They responded admirably on the night, but that may not happen every time.

Youngsters step up

Sometimes, when the more fancied names disappoint and the lesser-known players are required to bail out the side, it’s the opportunity that makes a cricketer. Nitish Kumar Reddy had been an untested commodity at IPL level, while Abdul Samad had been tried, tested , but not quite delivered during his time with the Sunrisers. But with very little batting capability to come after them, the two took it upon themselves to resurrect the faltering innings.

Nitish, just 20 years of age, showed immense class and was especially impressive against anything even remotely short. One of his pull shots, off Rabada no less, sailed deep over long leg. He was not short on innovation either, as a reverse-swipe against the usually miserly left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar suggested.

When the bowlers served it up on a fuller length, Nitish had the power to find the stands. His 64 off just 37 balls, when the team was under the pump, showed he can be relied upon when the chips are down.

Samad is touted to be a big hitter, but on Tuesday showed he can play traditional shots to good effect as well. He hit five boundaries, none of them landing beyond the rope, but still managed a strike rate of over two runs per ball. There were a few shots where a bit of delicate touch was needed and Samad showed it. A clip through midwicket, a glance through the onside, and a glide past point proved that he has more strokes in his arsenal than just the big hit into the stands.

As many as 80 runs came in a six-over period as the pressure was put right back on Punjab Kings. Though both Nitish and Samad were dismissed immediately after the second strategic timeout, Sunrisers cobbled their way to 182, which proved just enough on the night. The last-ball six, ironically hit by No.11 Unadkat, parried over the rope by Harshal Patel, proved decisive in the end.

Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 182/9 in 20 overs (Nitish Reddy 64, Abdul Samad 25; Arshdeep Singh 4/29) beat Punjab Kings 180/6 in 20 overs (Shashank Singh 46 not out, Ashutosh Sharma 33 not out; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/32, Pat Cummins 1/22) by two runs

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