Punjab pummelled as Sunrisers make merry of drop catches, win by 33 runs

Hyderabad move to the top of points table with 14 points from 11 games, inch closer to a play-offs berth

Hyderabad: Former champions, Sunrisers Hyderabad, scored a dominant 33-run win in the crucial game against Punjab Kings to move to the top of points table with 14 points from 11 games and also closer to a play-offs berth in the IPL at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Wednesday night.

Chasing 236, Kings, which paid a heavy price for shoddy catching earlier, suffered early setbacks, and the brilliance of Cooper Connolly (107 n.o., 59b, 7×4, 8×6) only delayed the inevitable after a dismal start.

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Poor shot selection saw fast bowler Pat Cummins dismiss Impact Sub Priyansh Arya (1) in the first over and then Nitish Kumar Reddy send back Prabhsimran Singh (3) with his first ball and first of the second over.

A huge blow struck the Kings when the in-form captain Shreyas Iyer (5) hit one from pacer Eshan Malinga straight to mid-off (23/3 in 3.2 overs).

Marcus Stoinis (28, 14b, 3×4, 2×6) played a breezy knock before left-arm spinner Shivang Kumar got the better of him, bowling marginally wide to force the batter to cut only to be caught behind (63/4 in 6.4 overs).

Cummins was back in the 12th over to cut short the threatening, fourth wicket stand of 47 runs off 30 balls between Cooper Connolly and Suyansh Shedge (25, 17b, 1×4, 2×6) by forcing the latter to pull to the fielder in the deep (111/5 in 11.4 overs), effectively shutting Kings out of the contest.

When Shashank Singh (5) pulled pacer Sakib Hussain straight to the fielder in the 13th over (119/6), it was all over bar shouting even as Connolly waged a lone battle with the team suffering third straight defeat.

Flying start

Earlier, Abhishek Sharma (35, 13b, 2×4, 4×6) and Travis Head (38, 19b, 3×4, 3×6) gave a flying start for Sunrisers, put in to bat, with a 54-run stand off just 21 balls.
Abhishek picked fast bowler Marco Jansen for special treatment – hitting two sixes and two fours in his first over and the second of the innings.

However, both of them got out when they looked to take charge. Fergusson got rid of Abhishek and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal lured Head to hit straight to long-off (84/2 in 6.4 overs).

Dropped chances

But soon, Kings floored three catches to be denied more wickets before the halfway stage. First, Ishan Kishan was dropped on 9 and 18 and then Heinrich Klaasen on 9 before the 12th over.

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 two put on 88 runs for the third wicket off just 48 balls to shift the momentum away from Kings.

Once again, Nitish Kumar Reddy (29 n,o., 13b, 2×4, 2×6) joined Klaasen to put on a very handy 63-run stand off 32 balls for the fourth wicket to help the home team score 235 for four in 20 overs.