NITISH RISES FOR SUN
Rookie Reddy scores whirlwind 64 to take Hyderabad to 182/9 against Punjab Kings
MULLANPUR: Sunrisers withstood a late onslaught from Ashutosh Sharma and Shashank Singh to record a thrilling two-run win over Punjab Kings in the IPL here on Tuesday. With this win, SRH has 6 points from five games, while Punjab has four points from five matches.
Required to chase 183, Punjab finished at 180 for six with Shashank and Ashutosh waging a spirited battle by adding 66 runs for the seventh wicket. Shashank remained unbeaten on 46 (25b, 6x4, 1x6), while Ashutosh scored 33 not out (15b, 3x4, 2x6).
Earlier, young Nitish Reddy showed tremendous character during a vital 37-ball 64, which lifted Sunrisers to a challenging 182/9.
Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh (4/29) was the standout bowler for Punjab, but SRH still eventually finished with a total that looked improbable at one stage.
Abdul Samad chipped in with a 12-ball 25 before Jaydev Unadkat ended the innings with a last-ball six. The match got under way on an eventful note as Travis Head (21 off 15 balls) would have been out first ball after a clear edge. But the opener must thank Kagiso Rabada for prolonging his stay in the middle as the South African lead pacer, having opened up Head completely, was not sure if he had indeed induced an edge.
Wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma went up straightaway but Rabada didn’t join his colleague loudly enough, as the batter got a reprieve with Punjab refusing to take a review. Replays showed a clear edge, and it was strange on Rabada’s part who was smashed for three successive boundaries by Head for a 16-run third over.
Head got a thick edge for a four, got the second boundary through the offside, and then played one on the rise through mid-on for his third straight four off Rabada. Despite living a charmed life, Head failed to capitalise, thanks to Punjab skipper Shikhar Dhawan, who ran back and kept his eyes on the ball to complete an excellent catch, which was followed by his trademark thigh-slap celebration.
It was a big breakthrough for Punjab and its captain was delighted, and so was bowler Arshdeep, who was the beneficiary of Dhawan’s judgement and athleticism. Two balls later, Aiden Markram was walking back to the dugout for a duck after edging an away going Arshdeep delivery to Jitesh.
Abhishek Sharma, having just hit Sam Curran for a lovely six and a four, fell to the English all-rounder's next ball after coming down the wicket in search of another big one. He mistimed, and Shashank Singh held on to a good catch to leave SRH in a spot of bother at 39/3 in the fifth over.
The power play yielded only 40 runs for the loss of three wickets as Punjab dominated the visitor, forcing SRH to alter its plans and send Rahul Tripathi as the impact sub. Tripathi replaced Head.
Tripathi (11 off 14 balls) and Heinrich Klaasen (9 in 9 balls) failed to get going to leave SRH tottering at 100 for five in the beginning of the 14th over.
The onus was then on Reddy to bail the team out, and the youngster did that with aplomb and picked 22 runs of a Harpreet Brar over to lift his side, while adding 50 runs in quick time with Samad.
BRIEF SCORES: Sunrisers Hyderabad 182/9 in 20 overs (NK Reddy 64, A Singh 4/29) bt Punjab Kings 180/6 in 20 overs (S Singh 46)