SRH vs PBKS Review – Tripathi, Markande hand Hyderabad their first victory
Sunrisers Hyderabad recorded their maiden win this season as they beat Punjab Kings in the 14th match of the Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL) on April 9. Shikhar Dhawan played a captain’s knock as he smashed 99* off 66 to help Punjab score 143/9 total while batting first. Rahul Tripathi scored an unbeaten fifty in response as Sunrisers Hyderabad chased the target with eight wickets remaining.
Aiden Markram won the toss for Hyderabad and elected to field first at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Marco Jansen and Mayank Markande came in for Adil Rashid and Abdul Samad while Punjab were forced to replace injured Bhanuka Rajapaksa with Australian all-rounder Matthew Short.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Prabhsimran Singh on the innings’ first delivery to give Hyderabad a sensational start. Jansen, playing first time this season, took Matthew Short and Jitesh Sharma’s valuable wickets to add early pressure on Punjab Kings.
The traveling side kept losing wickets as they struggled for meaningful partnerships in the middle over. SRH Debutant Markande took four wickets for 15 as Punjab were left struggling at 88/9 after 15 overs. But Dhawan took it upon himself as he smashed one of the best knocks of this season to drag Punjab to a fighting total.
Harry Brook opened the innings with Mayank Agarwal but the English star was not able to change his fortune in IPL. He was bowled out by Arshdeep Singh in the fourth over, scoring just 13 runs. Rahul Tripathi joined Mayank in the middle and the experienced duo avoided further slip-ups in the powerplay overs.
Rahul Chahar dismissed Mayank in the ninth over to balance the game a little as the required run rate increased to 8.41 after eight overs. But Tripathi switched gears as he paced up the Sunrisers’ innings with seven fours in the next three overs.
Tripathi stitched up a match-defining stand of an unbeaten 100 runs with Markram to record an easy chase with 17 balls to spare. Tripathi top-scored with 74* off 48 and Markram added crucial 37* off 21 to help Hyderabad get the crucial two points.
Top performers from the game
Shikhar Dhawan
The 37-year-old opener smashed an unbeaten 99 off 66 with the help of 12 fours and five sixes, thereby putting up a memorable knock for the PBKS fans. Though the effort went in vain but Shikhar’s performance helped Punjab Kings avoid scoring the lowest team total this season.
Mayank Markande
Punjab-born leg-spinner made his Sunrisers Hyderabad debut by picking up four wickets while conceding just 15 runs. Markande took the valuable wicket of Sam Curran
to break a dangerous partnership to prove his worth and is likely to keep Adil Rashid on the bench for the next game.
What’s next for both teams?
Punjab Kings next face Gujarat Titans at home on April 13 while winners Sunrisers Hyderabad travel to Kolkata to take on the in-form Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on April 14.
