At a Glance
- Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Punjab Kings, go to the top of the table
- Connolly scores unbeaten century in vain
- PBKS catching a cause for concern
Australian all-rounder Cooper Connolly’s unbeaten 107 wasn’t enough as Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Punjab Kings by 33 runs. SRH now have a 9-0 record at home against Punjab in their last nine such games.
After a cautious start, Connolly attacked his way to a 57-ball century as batters fell around him. Pat Cummins and Shivang Kumar came away with two scalps each as regular wickets tripped up PBKS’ run-chase.
The biggest difference between the two sides, however, was the fielding. PBKS dropped three catches and missed a stumping whereas SRH’s catching early in the chase put them in the driver’s seat.
In fact, Cummins’ two catches, in addition to figures of 2/34, played a part in the Aussie being named Player of the Match.
Sunrisers Hyderabad 235-4 (Klaasen 69, Kishan 55, Chahal 1-32) beat Punjab Kings 202-7 (Connolly 107*, Cummins 2-34) by 33 runs. View the full scorecard here.
Cummins and Co Break the Back of the Chase Early on
Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Cummins could not have scripted a better start to the bowling innings if he tried. With the last ball of his first over, Cummins set Priyansh Arya by bowling a short one after pushing mid-on back. Arya found Eshan Malinga, who obliged with a well-taken catch at deep square leg.
Arya’s opening partner fell immediately after, getting a leading edge off Nitish Kumar Reddy’s first ball. Cummins took a good catch, in spite of a slight tumble as he got to it. Skipper Shreyas Iyer was next to go. Another catch for opposite number Cummins, who seemed to be everywhere during the powerplay.
SRH Strangle PBKS in the Middle Overs
Outside of a two-over phase where Connolly and Suryansh Shedge were able to go after Harsh Dubey and Shivang Kumar, the SRH bowlers capitalised on those early powerplay wickets to apply the squeeze in the middle overs. In spite of Punjab scoring 35 in that two-over spell, they could only get 73 runs between overs 7 and 15.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad pacers were particularly miserly in this phase, conceding just 26 runs in five overs between them.
Strong Powerplay Powers SRH to massive score
Earlier, the Sunrisers posted 235/4 in 20 overs after Shreyas Iyer won the toss and put them in. The SRH batters began the innings just as well as their bowling counterparts did. Opening pair Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head got off to rapid starts to take their team to 79/1 in the first six overs. Abhishek’s 13-ball 35 fired SRH to 54 in just 3 and half overs before he skied one to Shreyas Iyer at mid-off off Lockie Ferguson.
Head kept the momentum going before falling for a well-made 19-ball 38. Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaassen then came together to put on 88 runs for the third wicket. While they initially looked to consolidate, Kishan especially looked to up the ante when he launched Vyshak Vijaykumar for three consecutive sixes in the 14th over, bringing up his fifty with the last of those.
Klassen and Nitish Kumar Reddy then ensured that SRH finished strong, scoring 61 runs in the final five overs. The South African was dismissed off the last ball of the innings for an innings-high 69.
The win takes Sunrisers Hyderabad to the top of the table, leapfrogging both PBKS and RCB, with 14 points from 11 games. The SRH players now have a six-day break before they take on Gujarat Titans on May 12. Punjab Kings, meanwhile, will be itching to end their losing streak, against Delhi Capitals on May 11.
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