Bhuvi fashions Sunrisers Hyderabad’s win
A five-wicket haul by Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, including two wickets in his last over, helped Sunrisers Hyderabad notch up a thrilling five-run win against Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League match here on Monday night.
Kumar conceded just 19 runs in his four-over quota to take five wickets as Kings XI Punjab got out for 154 in 19.4 overs, while chasing 160 to win, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here.
Kumar had the prized-wicket of Manan Vohra on the fourth ball of his last over, trapping him in front of the wicket with a perfect yorker. On the very first ball of the same over, Kumar had K Cariappa (1). Vohra missed his maiden IPL century by just five runs as he made 95 in 50 balls with the help of nine fours and five sixes. Even the Kings XI Punjab kept losing wickets on regular intervals, right-hand batsman Vohra continued hitting Sunrisers’ bowlers with sheer perfection.
Earlier, skipper David Warner top-scored with a 54-ball 70 as Sunrisers Hyderabad reached 159 for six. Warner added 60 valuable runs with Naman Ojha (34), giving the innings some momentum after a slow start, which saw the home side score only 25 runs in the first five overs. This was Warner’s 34th fifty, the most by any batsman in the tournament, and his fifth straight against Kings XI Punjab. Opting to field, Kings XI Punjab bowlers were disciplined in their approach on a pitch where shot-making was not the easiest thing in the world. Warner, however, was equal to the task on a day when Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi made his IPL debut. Warner got to his half century off 45 balls when he tucked one past the keeper for a boundary in the innings’ 17th over. Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad were off to a slow start, and it was not till the second ball of the third over they got their first boundary. Kings XI Punjab continued to bowl a tight line and length and the reward came in the form of Dhawan’s wicket, caught behind off a Mohit Sharma bouncer in the fifth over.