Shreyas sparkles with 82 as Punjab sets a formidable target of 246 for Sunrisers Hyderabad

The Sunrisers bowlers were clueless as Punjab Kings ratchets up a mammoth total of 245; Shreyas shines with 82 runs off 36 balls

HYDERABAD: Shreyas Iyer’s sparkling knock (82, 36b, 6×4, 6×6) and the belligerence of Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh at the top and a cameo by Marcus Stoinis in the end helped Punjab Kings set a challenging target of 246 for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL league match at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Saturday.

Priyansh Arya took his fearless approach to the next level with sensational stroke-play. The nonchalant pull over the fence of Sunrisers captain Pat Cummins and then treating Mohammed Shami with contempt, hitting straight over long-on, lashing one over covers and flicking with grace for a four in the third over bore the stamp of class and authority. And to cap that, Prabhsimran Singh pulls one over the fence.

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The bowlers were clueless as Punjab Kings scored a staggering 53 for no loss in just three overs.

Priyansh, who looked in ominous form (36, 13b, 2×4, 4×6), eventually mistimed a lofted shot of a slower ball off pacer Harshal Patel in the fourth over to provide relief to the home team and the near-capacity crowd.

It was debutant Eshan Malinga (unrelated to the legend Lasith Malinga) who struck the second big blow with his fifth ball, inducing Prabhsimran Singh (42, 23b, 7×4, 1×6) to hit a flat-batted shot of a slower one straight to mid-off in the seventh over (91/2).

Then, captain Shreyas Iyer took charge, swinging Malinga effortlessly for a six and soon Punjab scored 120 for two in 10 overs. Later, Shreyas pulled Cummins for a six and hit leggie Zeeshan Ansari for two sixes over long-off in the 12th over to make the bowling look ordinary.

Malinga struck second time in the 14th over, trapping Nehal Wadhera (27, 22b, 2×4, 1×6)lbw with a yorker and Harshal Patel an lbw verdict next over against Shashank Singh (2) to get the badly needed breakthroughs for the home team (4/168).

Shreyas was at his imperious best, hitting four fours off Malinga in the 17th over to continue the onslaught.

But, the ever-trying Harshal Patel (4-0-42-4) struck twice in the 18th over, conceding just five runs and removing Glenn Maxwell (3) and Shreyas Iyer to pull things back for Sunrisers just in time.
However, Marcus Stoinis (34 not out, 11b, 1×4 4×6) hit Shami for four consecutive sixes in the last over, which saw 27 runs scored and helped Punjab score cross the 240-mark.