Punjab sign off with win over Sunrisers
MUMBAI: Both Sunrisers Hyderabad, who had made a rousing start with five consecutive wins, and Punjab Kings, who caught the eye with their shiny attackat-all-costs batting method, had nothing to look forward to apart from ending their IPL on a high at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
Dead rubbers often run the risk of becoming damp squibs. Yet there are always players with a point to prove. Punjab found one in Harpreet Brar with the ball, whose 3/26 restricted Sunrisers. Chasing 158, PBKS batters won the match in convincing fashion, by five wickets in 15.1 overs.
Liam Livingstone (49—22b, 2x4, 5x6) again batted in explosive fashion, and it was only apt that the tournament’s 1000th six came off his blade.
During the PBKS run chase, the Mumbai crowd which had again assembled in large numbers was treated to a sparkling exchange between Indian cricket’s biggest find of this IPL, Umran Malik, and PBKS powerhouse Livingstone.
Malik began with a thrilling first over, immediately after the powerplay, by adding to his 21 tournament wickets after bringing an end to a promising high-intent Shah Rukh Khan (19—10b) innings. In the same over, he left PBKS skipper Mayank Agarwal bruised and unsettled with a hit on the ribcage. Agarwal fell in the next over. Enter Livingstone.
Malik almost got him attempting to pull but the ball fell inches short of the diving
Team GT (Q) RR (Q) LSG (Q) RCB (Q) DC PBKS KKR SRH CSK
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midwicket fielder. Malik ran in harder. He hurled a 153.5kph thunderbolt but it was deposited high over extra cover. Livingstone repeated the dose next ball, this time a six over deep midwicket. The tearaway quick was out of the attack, the asking rate at the end of nine overs was down to 6-an-over. And SRH could not land any real blows thereafter.
With no points table consequence, SRH batters could not begin their innings with any purpose. Rahul Tripathi staged a
Pts 20 18 18 16 14 14 12 12 8 8
47-run second-wicket stand with Abhishek Sharma, but both the batters, and Aiden Markram, became Brar’s victims as the leftarm spinner finally came good on a pitch offering some turn. He ended with figures of 4-0-26-3.
Until the 16th over, SRH were struggling to break free at 99/5. That’s when power-hitter Romario Shephard (26—15b), overlooked for most of the tournament, together with Washington Sundar (25—19b) took down Nathan Ellis in the 17th over and Kagiso Rabada in the 18th.
Brief scores: SRH 157/8 (A Sharma 43; H Brar 3/26). PBKS 160/5 (L Livingstone 49*; F Farooqi 2/32). PBKS won by 5 wickets.
IPL 2022