Hyderabad defeat Punjab by 2 runs. (Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh and PTI)
Death bowling issues for Hyderabad
For a side that is flying high, Hyderabad’s issues with the ball in death overs persist. Apart from Pat Cummins, Hyderabad have Bhuvneshwar Kumar and T Natarajan — two death overs specialists. But so far this season, they have looked a pale shadow of what they used to be. With Kumar struggling to execute his yorkers and Natarajan coming back from an injury, their efficacy has wavered at the death. Those yorkers which he used to land perfectly in the blockhole have deserted Kumar. As a result, Hyderabad have had to bank on Jaydev Unadkat to do the tough job. So far he has blown hot and cold at the death. And with 28 to defend off the final over chasing 183, he gave Hyderabad a nervy ending, conceding 26 runs including 3 sixes and 3 wides. Although Hyderabad will leave Mohali with two points, their troubles with death bowling seem to have no ending.
A Fantastic Finish 🔥
Plenty happened in this nail-biter of a finish where the two teams battled till the end🤜🤛
Relive 📽️ some of the drama from the final over ft. Jaydev Unadkat, Ashutosh Sharma & Shashank Singh 👌
Watch the match LIVE on @starsportsindia and @JioCinema… pic.twitter.com/NohAD2fdnI
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 9, 2024
Rabada vs Head: No clear winner
Pace, bounce and lateral movement; Kagiso Rabada with a buttery smooth run up — versus Travis Head; an attacking opener not afraid to expose his stumps and use angles, punches and aerial slashes to make his runs. Rabada, given the new ball by Punjab Kings for the first time this season, was right on the money. Head batted the only way he knew. Safe to say Head had no clue how the first ball of the match whistled through to the keeper. He, in fact, got a touch but PBKS didn’t appeal. The first 4 was an edge over slip. The rest of the first over, Head was simply outclassed. Rabada-Head played out again in the third over — an edge past the keeper got Head the first of three 4s in a row. The next two 4s were from the Head school of batting; fast hands, making room, clearing the front leg… past point, over mid-on. Head was up and running. Fair to say no clear winner here. If only PBKS had gone upstairs.
2️⃣ set batters 🔙 in the pavilion ✅
Arshdeep Singh with another 𝙙𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 over of the night 👏👏
Watch the match LIVE on @JioCinema and @StarSportsIndia 💻📱#TATAIPL | #PBKSvSRH | @PunjabKingsIPL | @arshdeepsinghh pic.twitter.com/bXrqRn6NTV
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 9, 2024
Signature celebration before group pile up
Even as Shikhar Dhawan began to run behind from mid-off for a potentially tough catch offered by Travis Head, the only thought that popped up was whether he would have the time to do his thigh-slap celebration routine as two other team-mates were in hot pursuit. For some reason, the man at point thought he should also dash for that catch; so did, more understandably, the short extra cover fielder. Will they give enough time for Dhawan to celebrate before they arrived at the scene to hug him? As there wasn’t much doubt that Dhawan would nab that tough chance. He might not keep his hotel rooms clean, putting a DND sign that prevents housekeeping staff from cleaning his room for 2-3 days— as Rohit Sharma would mention in a recent Kapil Sharma show, but he is usually pretty clean and clinical with the skiers. Luckily, both his team-mates arrived with just enough time for him to slap his thigh before he was enveloped with warm hugs.
Bhuvi, the Shikhar slayer
Bhuvneshwar Kumar showed that wily bowlers can set-up batsmen in T20 cricket too. His dismissal of Shikhar Dhawan was a result of an elaborate plan that worked to perfection. Dhawan loves width to free his arms, Bhuvneshwar would deny him that by using his subtle swing and keeping the ball on the stump. Dhawan would play out a maiden. As expected Dhawan, in the next over, would leave the crease to cut the swing. He would get a boundary. Now it was Bhuvi’s turn to make a move. In a throwback to the days when Bhuvi in India blues would ask MS Dhoni to stand up behind the stumps to restrict batsmen from charging down the wicket, Heinrich Klaasen would do the same. Dhawan would be dropped by the slip fielder as he tried to manipulate the ball from within the crease. The Punjab captain was frustrated, and next ball he would leave the crease, miss the ball and watch Klaasen break the stumps. Bhuvi had read Dhawan like a book. It was a rare under-applauded bowling moment of this batting festival.
𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘅 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗯 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗲𝘀 ⚡️
Relive Heinrich Klaasen’s brilliant piece of stumping 😍👐
Watch the match LIVE on @StarSportsIndia and @JioCinema 💻📱#TATAIPL | #PBKSvSRH | @SunRisers pic.twitter.com/sRCc0zM9df
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 9, 2024
Jonny, Jonny: Pat came the reply
After a subpar Test tour of India, Jonny Bairstow’s struggles on subcontinental wickets persist. His duck on Tuesday was his third single-digit score in five games so far this season, and even when he scored a 29-ball 42 in an over-100 run opening partnership, it had been a tad too slow and came in a losing cause. In a tournament that has increasingly been seeing powerplay aggression as the key to big totals, the Briton has struggled to go after new-ball bowlers in the powerplay, and often given away his wicket seeking big shots under pressure.
Pat Cummins, a familiar Ashes foe, exploited that to perfection, setting up the wicket by beating him with a short one outside off, and then drawing him into a big heave to a quicker one that cleaned up his stumps. Cummins has prevailed with Bairstow’s wicket in three of their last four battles in the IPL. Pressure is on the opener now for a reversal in fortunes to keep his place in the playing XI, especially with Sikander Raza showing form and Liam Livingstone’s imminent return from injury.
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