Klaasen, Ishan fireworks set up formidable total for Sunrisers against Punjab Kings

Abhishek Sharma, in the company of the free-stroking opening partner Travis Head, gives a flying start for Sunrisers with a 54-run stand off just 21 balls

Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad, put in to bat, set up a challenging target of 236 for Punjab Kings in the crucial IPL league match at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Wednesday night. Southpaw Abhishek Sharma, in the company of the free-stroking opening partner Travis Head, gave a flying start for Sunrisers, put in to bat, with a 54-run stand off just 21 balls.
Abhishek had a head start with some extravagant strokes, picking fast bowler Marco Jansen for special treatment – hitting two sixes and two fours in his first over and the second of the innings. Then, he pulled pacer Lockie Ferguson nonchalantly into the stands before the bowler induced a leading edge of another ambitious lofted stroke from Abhishek (35, 13b, 2×4, 4×6), to provide huge relief to the Kings in the fourth over.
Then, Head (38, 19b, 3×4, 3×6) changed gears, pulling Fergusson for two sixes and looked to take charge before leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal lured him to hit straight to long-off (84/2 in 6.4 overs).
Dropped chances
But soon Kings’ shoddy catching denied two more wickets before the halfway stage. First, Ishan Kishan was dropped on 9 and 18, and Heinrich Klaasen on 9 before the 12th over.
Not surprisingly, Kings paid a heavy price as soon Ishan (55, 32b, 2×4, 4×6) stepped into his own zone – hitting fast bowler Vijaykumar Vyshank for three sixes to reach his half-century in the 14th over. At the other end, Klaasen (69, 43b, 3×4, 4×6)was at his clinical best and once again proved that he is the most consistent and dangerous batter in this line-up. The six over long-on off Marco Jansen being the pick of the shots. The two put on 88 runs for the third wicket off just 48 balls to shift the momentum away from Kings.
Nitish Kumar Reddy (29 n,o., 2×4, 2×6), who was back after missing the previous game, proved his utility with two beautifully timed sixes off Jansen and Fergusson, and as has been the case this season, put on a very handy 63-run stand off 32 balls for the fourth wicket to help the team score 235 for four in 20 overs.

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