Punjab Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad Match Scorecard

Abhishek Sharma took immediate control after the loss of Travis Head early, smashing five fours and six sixes off 28 balls – supported by Heinrich Klaasen as they brought SRH within reach of victory.

Pat Cummins of Southern Rose Hurricanes expressed his appreciation at receiving such tremendous support away from home and acknowledged Abhishek Sharma and Klaasen for their batting performances in the Punjab Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad match scorecard.

PBKS 214/5 (Prabhsimran Singh 71 not out

Abhishek Sharma’s unbeaten 66 not out helped Sunrisers Hyderabad reach their target with four wickets left over against PBKS at home with ease, sealing an easy win against them and moving them up into second position on the points table with 17 from 14 matches played.

Punjab opened with Atharva Taide and Prabhsimran Singh who put together an impressive innings, adding 97 runs during the powerplay to establish a formidable total for PBKS to chase down.

Prabhsimran found an able partner in Rilee Rossouw and together the pair amassed 54 off 33 balls for the second wicket partnership. Unfortunately for South African batsman Vijayakanth Viyaskanth’s leg spin took out Prabhsimran in 15th over with an edge-taken delivery that caused Heinrich Klaasen to make an incredible one-handed catch behind the stumps to deny them their 50th run score.

Middle-order batsmen soon joined in, creating an outstanding 75-run partnership for the fourth wicket before Rossouw was eventually dismissed in 18th over by Pat Cummins using a slow full toss that got some bounce and holed out at midwicket.

Jitesh Sharma then provided an impressive finish with an unbeaten 32 off just 15 deliveries – smashing two sixes and four fours against Nitish Reddy to propel the total past 200 effortlessly.

Rilee Rossouw 49 not out

Rilee Rossouw has endured a rough start to his international career, yet finally seems to be finding his feet. The South Africa batter had struggled with form before Tuesday’s match but produced an outstanding innings with 49 off 24 balls off just 24 deliveries for Punjab – helping the team post an impressive total of 214/5 against Kings XI Punjab. Rossouw shared an 89-run partnership with Quinton de Kock who scored unbeaten 71 off 43 balls.

Rossouw had three dots in his initial two overs but soon settled down and scored quickly, hitting four fours and five sixes in rapid succession. Rossouw teamed up with Jitesh Sharma – who stood in for Sam Curran – as stand-in captain. Together they added another 61 runs before teaming up again in 13 overs to help PBKS close on 214/5.

T Natarajan led Hyderabad’s bowlers in terms of wicket-taking with two wickets from four overs he bowled. Additionally, pace bowlers Pat Cummins and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth each claimed one scalp in this matchup.

Punjab had initially struggled to gain any traction during their powerplay, losing Rohit Sharma for a duck as they struggled to build momentum, with de Kock following suit by going for golden duck. However, Punjab’s innings gained steam as Rossouw and de Kock formed an effective partnership of 78 runs in seven overs – providing much-needed momentum.

Harpreet Brar to Heinrich Klaasen: Out, Timber! Klaasen misses his scoop and the ball flies high to short midwicket where Shashank Singh easily takes an easy catch – leaving Hyderabad needing 17 runs from 18 balls now!

Jitesh Sharma 32 not out)

Jitesh Sharma took an introspective view of his game after failing to make India’s T20 World Cup squad, calling it an eye-opening moment and realigning all aspects of his approach. He believes it has led to greater discipline and focus.

A wicketkeeper batter hoped to prove their worth against Bangladesh in the upcoming T20 International series, as Vidarbha batsman Amit Vij reenters Indian T20I squad after an eight-month absence and attempts to rejuvenate his career with a revamped Indian T20 side that now boasts of World Champions as players as well as a new coach.

Jitesh was an asset for Punjab in their match against SRH as he led them to 215-5. Opening with Atharva Taide and Rilee Rossouw respectively, he put on an important partnership that yielded four fours and six sixes over 24 balls – making his impact felt.

Punjab’s innings was derailed when their top batsman, PBKS’s Chris Gayle, tried a bold shot that Abhishek Sharma swiftly caught at short covers. This action caused their innings to lose steam quickly.

Abhishek Sharma joined him, and together they raced towards the target with almost six balls remaining to ensure a swift finish for Sunrisers Hyderabad and an unlikely second spot on the points table; Punjab fell back down to ninth and saw their season come to a disappointing close.

SRH 215 (Abhishek Sharma 66 not out

Abhishek Sharma continued to dazzle Hyderabad fans with an impressive display of clean striking. He hit two short balls over fine leg for sixes before smashing fuller deliveries over deep third man boundary for his team to post an impressive total. In all 61 balls faced he hit five fours and six sixes on his way to an excellent 66 off 61; prior to being removed by Punjab skipper Jitesh Sharma off Ashutosh Sharma’s bowling in the penultimate over.

Heinrich Klaasen then came in and produced a swift 32 off 16 balls to bring Abhishek and company closer to their target, although they must maintain momentum to win the match.

Strategy-Break: Sunrisers Hyderabad need 33 in the final five overs to win this match and Abhishek Sharma needs to continue his good form as batsman and set an example for their side. After this break Harshal Patel will bowl for them.

14.6: Arshdeep Singh to Shahbaz Ahmed. Full and on off, Shahbaz drives hard from the middle but fails as Shashank Singh takes an amazing catch at short covers – keeping Hyderabad’s chances alive in this game.

SRH are on the brink of winning their last home game of the season against Punjab. Only two points behind Rajasthan Royals, they need to beat them in their last home match to ensure top 2 finish. So far SRH have scored 214/5 in 20 overs with Prabhsimran Singh leading them with seven fours and four sixes off 45 balls while T Natarajan (2/33) has been their stand-out bowler.

T Natarajan 2 for 33)

Punjab quickly established themselves with an impressive 97-1 in their power play after winning the toss, thanks to an unassailable opening partnership of Atharva Taide and Prabhsimran Singh that put Sussex reeling. These two looked in fine form as they unfailingly attacked every chance presented them.

Natarajan finally managed to break the stand-off in the 10th over with his short and wideish delivery, bowling one to Taide to dismiss him for 46 off 27 balls. But Prabhsimran kept pushing forward quickly en route to achieving his second fifty of the season off just 24 balls with help from Rilee Rossouw who hit two fours and two sixes in his unorthodox knock of 48 off 22 deliveries aided him on this pursuit.

18.6: Rahul Chahar bowls full on middle to Sanvir Singh who attempts to slap it, only for it to fly over his head for a boundary! Hyderabad need 33 runs off 18 now!

19.1: Rahul Chahar to Heinrich Klaasen – Rahul Chahar delivers a full and floater delivery which hits Klaasen on his pads before flying up in the air and being caught by Vijayakanth Viyaskanth at deep midwicket.

Even though PBKS fell short, their performance was truly admirable without their foreign players and they displayed tremendous fighting spirit until the very last over. Jitesh Sharma led by example with his quickfire 32 off 15 balls; Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen played their parts with some aggressive knocks to keep SRH competitive; but two quick wickets and collapse in the last over effectively ended any chance for victory for home side SRH.