IPL 2021: Nathan Ellis holds his nerve to help Punjab Kings beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 5 runs

As far as a fairytale debut goes, Australian bowler Nathan Ellis surely had one of those. A low-scoring but tense encounter between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) saw KL Rahul’s men brush off the demoralizing defeat against Rajasthan Royals (RR) to gather two points against the men in orange. The match went down to the very last ball. PBKS were in deep trouble as they could only make 125 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the first innings, but their bowling unit certainly saved the day. SRH, who have only won once so far this season, fell short by five runs as they scored 120 runs for the loss of 7 wickets after 20 overs. If anyone deserves to be praised for that outstanding victory, it is PBKS bowler Nathan Ellis. The Australian youngster was making his debut in the IPL and he had the humongous task of preventing a dangerous Jason Holder from scoring 17 runs from five deliveries. Ellis certainly did an incredible job.

SHARJAH PITCH CLAIMS SRH BATTERS, BUT NOT JASON HOLDER

SRH would have been pretty confident after managing to restrict PBKS to just 125 runs in the first innings. On a pitch like Sharjah where boundaries are short, scoring runs often seems like the least troublesome task. On Saturday, however, the pitch had other ideas. There was absolutely nothing for the batters, barring Jason Holder, even in the second innings. Holder was the only one who made a significant contribution as he made 47 runs off 29 deliveries, his career-best IPL score so far. The all-rounder had a pretty good day considering that he also recorded his best-ever IPL bowling figures on the day.

Wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha was also one of the players who scored some good runs but the rate at which the veteran scored was simply too slow for a T20 game. Saha made 31 runs off 37 deliveries. No other batter in orange could get the scoreboard really ticking. Opener David Warner only scored a couple of runs and skipper Kane Williamson made just one.

ELLIS, SHAMI, BISHNOI RUN THE SHOW

When it comes to the PBKS bowling, the highest praise must be given to Ellis. To be playing his first match in the IPL and to be put in that sort of a pressure situation, is not an easy place to be in. However, although he conceded 32 runs in four overs, he held his nerve in the most important one. It was his skill with the ball that ultimately prevented an in-form Holder from winning the game for the Orange Army.

Ravi Bishnoi and Mohammad Shami were the PBKS bowlers who got the wickets and completely broke down the SRH batting unit. Shami picked up two wickets while Bishnoi bagged four. It was an impressive performance from Arshdeep Singh as well who took one wicket.

PBKS BATTING STILL A CONCERN

Despite the victory, questions will be asked of PBKS’ terrible batting display in the first innings. KL Rahul scored 21 runs off 21 deliveries, while Mayank Agarwal only scored five. Chris Gayle, a veteran batter, scored 14 runs, while Nicholas Pooran, a fellow countryman, scored eight. Deepak Hooda, Harpreet Brar, and Nathan Ellis batted for PBKS as well, but they only scored 13, 18, and 12 runs, respectively.

SRH’s bowling performance was absolutely outstanding. Five bowlers took wickets and were mostly economical. Holder was undoubtedly the best of the bowlers. In his four overs, the all-rounder took three wickets and allowed only 19 runs. Each of Sandeep Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan, and Abdul Samad took one wicket.