Sunrisers Hyderabad put on a fantastic display of bowling as Punjab Kings were restricted to a below-par score in the IPL 2021 match in Chennai.
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Khaleel Ahmed and Abhishek Sharma’s three and two wickets respectively, aided by a clinical performance from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan helped Sunrisers Hyderabad to bowl Punjab Kings out for 120 in the IPL 2021 match at the MA Chidambaram stadium on Wednesday. Punjab Kings failed to get going, with the highest score being 22. The inability to build partnerships in the middle overs as well as in the death overs hurt KL Rahul’s side immensely as they chose to bat on a sluggish track in Chepauk.
Both sides had made changes to bolster the batting and the bowling. For Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kane Williamson returned from injury. Kedar Jadhav was included for the first time. Siddarth Kaul returned at the expense of Manish Pandey. There was plenty of confusion in the Punjab Kings line-up. Eventually, Fabian Allen and Moises Henriques came in while Riley Meredith and Jhye Richardson sat out
Immediately, David Warner sprung a surprise as Abhishek Sharma came onto bowl. The left-arm orthodox bowler almost had a wicket in his first over. However, Rashid Khan spilled a chance off Mayank Agarwal. Punjab Kings’ batsmen 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 the pull shot and was caught at midwicket, just like his skipper Rahul.
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, the Universe Boss failed to pick the Rashid Khan slider and was LBW for 15.
When Sharma dismissed Deepak Hooda and had Moises Henriques stumped, the Punjab Kings batting once again unraveled like the game against Chennai Super Kings. Mohammad Shahrukh Khan hit two sixes off Sharma and Siddarth Kaul to try a revial. But, when he fell for 22, Punjab Kings’ prospects of a good score was dashed. This performance will greatly boost the confidence of Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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