IPL 2021: Clinical Sunrisers Hyderabad thump Punjab Kings by nine wickets for first win

It took them four games, but Sunrisers Hyderabad finally put in a performance that made them the champions in 2016. Khaleel Ahmed and Abhishek Sharma’s bowling performance, combined with David Warner and Jonny Bairstow’s aggressive opening partnership laid the foundation for a dominant win. Bairstow would go on to make another fifty as Sunrisers Hyderabad thumped Punjab Kings by nine wickets at the MA Chidambaram stadium on Wednesday for their first win in IPL 2021. This was also the first-ever win for Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chepauk in the IPL.

The damage was done earlier by Khaleel and Abhishek Sharma. Punjab Kings did not help themselves by not adapting to the conditions. The first three games were played at the Wankhede where Punjab Kings’ batsmen found the ball coming onto the bat nicely. In Chepauk, on a slow and sluggish deck, Punjab Kings struggled.

Chasing 121, Warner and Bairstow laid the foundation by smashing 50 runs in the powerplay. That closed any opportunity Punjab Kings had in the match. The Punjab Kings spin dup of Murugan Ashwin and Fabian Allen would slow things down, with Allen dismissing Warner for 37. Kane Williamson survived as Moises Henriques dropped him off Arshdeep Singh. Both Bairstow and Williamson ensured there would be no more hassle. Bairstow notched up his fifty and then sealed the game with a six to put the smiles back on the Sunrisers Hyderabad team.

Nothing right for Punjab Kings

The highest score by the Punjab Kings batsmen was 22. The inability to build partnerships in the middle overs as well as in the death overs hurt KL Rahul’s side immensely after choosing to bat.

Both sides had made changes to bolster the batting and the bowling. For Sunrisers Hyderabad, Williamson was back and Kedar Jadhav was included for his debut. Siddarth Kaul returned at the expense of Manish Pandey. There was plenty of confusion in the Punjab Kings line-up. Eventually, Allen and Henriques came in while Riley Meredith and Jhye Richardson sat out

Immediately, David Warner sprung a surprise as Sharma came onto bowl. The left-arm orthodox bowler almost had a wicket in his first over. But, Rashid Khan spilled a chance off Mayank Agarwal. Punjab Kings’ batsmen, who were still trying to adapt to the wicket in Chepauk, paid the price for not applying themselves. With the ball not coming onto the bat, it needed application from the very beginning. But, Punjab Kings could not do it.

KL Rahul mistimed a short ball to midwicket to give Bhuvneshwar Kumar his first wicket. With Sunrisers Hyderabad employing the short and slow ball with good effect, Agarwal also perished in the quest for quick runs. The Karnataka batsman mistimed another pull shot and the catch was taken at midwicket.

More troubles for Punjab Kings

Nicholas Pooran was run-out for a diamond duck, compounding his woes in the tournament. In previous games, he had made 0,0 and 9. His third duck in four games meant Chris Gayle had to shoulder the burden of run-scoring. However, when the Universe Boss failed to pick the Rashid Khan slider, he was trapped LBW for 15.

When Sharma got rid of Deepak Hooda and had Moises Henriques stumped, the Punjab Kings batting unraveled. Mohammad Shahrukh Khan hit two sixes off Sharma and Siddarth Kaul. But when he fell for 22, Punjab Kings’ prospects of a score near 140 was dashed.

This win will hopefully get Sunrisers Hyderabad’s campaign back on track and ensure they stake a claim for the playoffs.