PBKS scored 214/5 in 20 overs, where as SRH scored 215/6 in 19.1 overs.
So, finally SRH beat PBKS by 4 wickets.
Sunrisers Hyderabad overcame a spirited performance from a depleted Punjab Kings side, which fielded just one foreign player in their eleven, making light work of a chase of 215 led by Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen.
The difference
| Parameters | PBKS | SRH |
|---|---|---|
| Runs | 61/0 | 84/2 |
| Run-rate | 10.16 | 14 |
| 4s/6s | 8 and 2 | 9 and 6 |
Although Punjab did not fare too badly in this phase, SRH simply out-hit them to effectively end a high chase.
Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi set it up with impressive six-hitting, eclipsing PBKS’s efforts in the same period.
This performance was fitting for a game where Abhishek broke the record for the most sixes hit by an Indian batter in a season, and SRH broke the record for the most sixes by any team in a T20 tournament.
Punjab Kings
Powerplay: 61/0 (8x4s, 2x6s)
Punjab Kings’ decision to bat first, despite a bit of rain around, paid off well.
Both Atharva Taide and Prabhsimran Singh displayed much-needed panache on a pitch that did not hold many demons.
Singh started with back-to-back boundaries off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, albeit one off an inside edge.
Both batsmen punished anything short, pinging the onside boundaries with pulls.
This flurry ensured Punjab Kings went into the middle overs with a solid foundation.
Middle overs: 98/2 (7x6s, 6x4s)
The duo were adept when spin came into play as well.
Taide tonked Viyaskanth for a six over midwicket, and Singh followed suit against Shahbaz Ahmed.
Just as both neared their fifties, Taide fell against the run of play, mistiming a cut off T Natarajan to backward point.
Even as the 97-run stand ended, the momentum didn’t abate.
Rilee Rossouw got going with a pulled boundary off a free hit and followed it up with a six against Nitish Reddy.
Singh, meanwhile, brought up a well-earned half-century with a six, a recurrent feature against the spinners.
Unfortunately, Singh got out on 71 with some deflection off the pad and glove, but his role as enforcer was seamlessly transitioned to a well-set Rossouw.
End overs: 55/3 (3x6s, 3x4s)
Punjab nearly lost their way in this period with SRH putting on a good fielding show.
First, Nitish Reddy effected the run-out of Shashank Singh off his own bowling, and Sanvir Singh took an excellent catch to send Ashutosh Sharma packing.
Pat Cummins and Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled successive overs, giving away only six runs each.
However, it was bookended by two big overs: Nitish Reddy was taken for 15 runs, and in the final over, he conceded 19 with skipper Jitesh Sharma hitting a four and two successive sixes to take PBKS to 214.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Powerplay: 84/2 (6x6s, 9x4s)
Punjab started the bowling on the right note with Arshdeep Singh sneaking under the dangerous Travis Head’s defense first ball.
But it was carnage thereafter, as both Rahul Tripathi and Abhishek Sharma took turns to lay into some mediocre bowling.
Harshal Patel gave away 22 runs in five balls before managing to get Tripathi.
However, with four fours and two sixes in an 18-ball knock, Tripathi had already made a significant impact.
Middle overs: 98/2 (5x4s, 7x6s)
Like Punjab, SRH did not allow their momentum to dip.
Abhishek Sharma brought up a 21-ball fifty with back-to-back boundaries off Shahbaz Ahmed, while Nitish Reddy kept up the task with crucial boundaries off Rahul Chahar, who had started with a boundary-less over.
Sharma fell first, slicing Shashank Singh’s first ball to deep point, but Heinrich Klaasen came in and immediately started on top gear, hitting sixes off both Chahar and Harpreet Brar.
Reddy fell to Harshal Patel, slicing to point, but his 37 off 25 was a handy knock in partnerships worth 47 and 57 with Klaasen and Sharma respectively.
This left SRH needing just 33 off the last five overs.
End overs: 33/2 (4x4s, 1×6)
Despite losing a couple of wickets, SRH’s chase was mostly a breeze thereafter, with Klaasen finishing on 42 before being bowled by Brar.
This victory left SRH on 17 points, with a good chance of making it to the top two.
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