Mayank Agarwal was missing, having hurt his toe on Satuday. Punjab Kings, with Shikhar Dhawan at the helm, missed its skipper badly as the in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad pace quartet set up a fourth consecutive win in the IPL-15.
In control
Incisive bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar dealt vital blows for Sunrisers. | Photo Credit: PTI
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was at his miserly best while Umran Malik continued to breathe fire as Sunrisers bowled out the Kings for 151 at the DY Patil Stadium. Despite Kane Williamson perishing early, the Sunrisers batters ensured the chase remained in control, winning by seven wickets.
For the second time in three days, Sunrisers’ ‘Fantastic Four’ emerged as the architects of the win. Despite Liam Livingstone’s power-packed fifty, the Sunrisers pacers dominated the PowerPlay and death overs.
Marco Jansen and Bhuvneshwar were on the ball, with the latter hitting Dhawan on the box. Bhuvneshwar struck in his second over forcing Dhawan to hole out at mid-on with a short ball. With T. Natarajan luring Prabhsimran into a false stroke in the PowerPlay and J. Suchith trapping Jonny Bairstow, the stage was set for Umran Malik.
The Kashmir Express did just that, with Jitesh Sharma top-edging the bowler for a skier. At 61 for four, having unleashed an assault on Jansen in the last over of the PowerPlay, Livingstone cut loose. His upper cut and pull off Umran were a treat to watch.
Shahrukh Khan hung on as the duo set the platform for a strong finish. At 132 for four in 16 overs, the Kings could have hoped for a target close to 180.
The next four overs yielded just 19 runs for six wickets as Bhuvneshwar and Umran ripped through the Kings batting. Bhuvneshwar struck off his first ball on return, with Shahrukh’s attempted swat resulting in a top-edge to Williamson.
In the penultimate over, despite conceding a six off Odean Smith, Bhuvneshwar had the prize scalp of Livingstone.
Mayhem
What followed was mayhem as Umran became only the fourth bowler in IPL history to bowl the last over of an innings as maiden. To top it all, he ran though the lower-order, picking up three wickets and the last ball resulted in a run-out.
