TATA IPL 2024 : Nitish Kumar Reddy’s impressive 64 runs off 37 balls turned the tide in favor of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) as they narrowly defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) in an intense match at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur. Despite a late scare, SRH managed to hold on for the win.
In the match against SRH, Reddy played a crucial role in their recovery after being at 39/3. He partnered with Abdul Samad and together they scored a rapid 50 runs off just 20 balls, helping SRH reach a respectable total of 182/9. Despite a late surge from Shashank Singh (46 off 25) and Ashutosh Sharma (33 off 15), Jaydev Unadkat remained composed and successfully defended 29 runs in the final over, securing a victory for his team.
In the match where SRH had a target of 183, they began strong by taking down three wickets during the Powerplay. The team’s captain, Pat Cummins, was the first to make an impact by bowling out Jonnhy Bairstow in the second over. Following that, Bhuvneshwar also contributed by taking two wickets, including Impact Player Prabhsimran Singh and PBKS captain Shikhar Dhawan who was caught out by a superb stumping from Heinrich Klaasen, standing up to the stumps. This resulted in PBKS being reduced to 27/3 during the Powerplay.
Sikandar Raza and Sam Curran joined forces to stabilize the situation with a partnership of 38 runs. However, the home team suffered a setback when Curran (29 off 22) was dismissed by T Natarajan, who was brilliantly supported by Cummins with a running catch at mid off.
The revival was once again initiated by Raza and Shashank Singh, teaming up for a 33-run partnership. However, SRH was determined to not let this alliance continue for long, with Jaydev Unadkat taking out Raza (28 off 22) right after the time-out.
SRH continuously took wickets at consistent intervals while the necessary rate of scoring increased. When there were 67 runs left to be scored in 24 balls, Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma displayed their strong hitting abilities by hitting seven boundaries in the following three overs, reducing the remaining runs to 29 needed in the last six balls.
The last over of the match was an eventful one. Ashutosh Singh hit the opening ball of the over, bowled by Jaydev Unadkat, to deep mid-wicket. Nitish attempted to catch it, but it went over the boundary line as he jumped in the air. Unadkat then delivered two wide balls, resulting in eight runs being scored on the first ball of the final over. Ashutosh then struck the next ball to long off, where Samad missed his jump and the ball went for a six. The following ball was a slower bouncer, which Ashutosh pulled to deep mid-wicket for a quick two runs, bringing the required number of runs down to 13 off 3 balls. Another slower bouncer was thrown, and the outcome was the same – two runs to deep mid-wicket.
In a crucial moment with 11 runs needed off just 2 balls, Unadkat delivered a WIDE. The following delivery saw another miss, this time by Ashutosh who attempted a slower shot to the deep square leg, but it was dropped by Rahul Tripathi. This left the team with 9 runs required off the final ball. Despite Shashank’s effort of hitting the ball over long off, PBKS ultimately fell just two runs shy of victory.
Shikhar Dhawan, the captain of Punjab Kings, chose to field after winning the toss.
At the beginning, the hosts made a promising start by taking the wickets of Travis Head, Aiden Markram, and Abhishek Sharma during the Powerplay.
The beginning of the match was quite eventful when Travis Head was fortunate enough to be given a not out decision after being appealed for a caught behind on the first ball of the match bowled by Rabada. PBKS chose not to review the decision. However, replays later revealed that there was indeed an edge as the ball grazed the bat. Rabada delivered a superb first over to Head, managing to beat him multiple times. In the following over, Head retaliated and aggressively hit three fours off Rabada, with one of them being through an inside edge, scoring 16 runs. Abhishek Sharma had a close call with a run out chance before Head’s luck eventually ran out in the next over when he mistimed a loft shot off Arshdeep and was caught brilliantly by Shikhar Dhawan while running backwards.
In the same over, Arshdeep struck once more by getting Aiden Markram caught behind. Following this, Abhishek Sharma took on Sam Curran and hit him for a six and a four in the following over. However, the all-rounder from PBKS retaliated and managed to dismiss him on the next ball, resulting in SRH’s score of 39/3 after five overs.
To improve their performance, SRH made a strategic move by replacing Head with Rahul Tripathi as their Impact Player. Tripathi and Nitish Kumar Reddy worked together to stabilize the situation with a 25-run partnership, but they struggled to score boundaries. Despite their efforts, the pressure remained high and SRH suffered another loss when Harshal Patel successfully reviewed and dismissed Tripathi, who was caught behind.
After a few successful shots of fours and sixes by Reddy, he then released the pressure valve by hitting a six off Harpreet Brar. He continued his streak by smashing sixes off Rabada and Curran, helping SRH reach their 100 in the 13th over. However, just as SRH seemed to be gaining momentum, Harshal took an important wicket by catching Heinrich Klaasen at long off. Abdul Samad then joined the game and hit two impressive fours. Nitish also continued his aggressive play, scoring a half-century with a four and six off Brar. Although he was dropped on the next ball, Nitish added salt to PBKS’ wounds by hitting a six off the very next ball, earning 22 runs for the over.
In just 19 balls, the duo achieved a 50-run partnership, but it was short-lived as Arshdeep returned to take two wickets in the 17th over. Nitish was dismissed after scoring an impressive 64 runs off 37 balls, which included four fours and five sixes, while Samad contributed a quick 25 runs off 12 balls, hitting five fours.
In the slog-overs, PBKS made a comeback by taking 4 wickets for 36 runs in the last four overs, resulting in SRH ending their innings with a total score of 182/9.