IPL 2024: Punjab Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 23rd Match - Who Said What?

A classic encounter at Mullanpur saw Sunrisers Hyderabad defeat Punjab Kings by just two runs. At one point the hosts were completely out of the contest but Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma once again built a brilliant partnership but unfortunately couldn’t take their team home. They exposed Hyderabad’s poor death over bowling but the Pat Cummins-led side would be much elated with the two points as they are currently fifth on the points table.

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Batting first, Hyderabad were in a state of bother as they were 64/4 at one stage. However, Nitish Reddy played brilliantly as his 64 runs off 37 deliveries helped Hyderabad post 182 runs in the first innings - which once seemed impossible. Abdul Samad played a good cameo of 25 runs off 12 deliveries while Jaydev Unadkat hit a six on the final delivery of the first innings. Meanwhile, Arshdeep Singh picked up four wickets in the match, which is a positive sign, given that the youngster is in the scheme of things for the T20 World Cup.

When it came to the chase, Punjab were in trouble right from the start. They were reduced to 20/3 as Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Pat Cummins were phenomenal with the new ball. Sam Curran and Sikandar Raza later made 29 runs and 28 runs respectively, but it was Shashank and Ashutosh who stood tall and did the tough bit. The pair hit 26 runs in the final over but it was not enough in the end.

1. Arshdeep’s form amid Punjab’s misery

Punjab bowlers were all over the place against SRH but Arshdeep did a commendable job, picking up four wickets for 29 runs in his four overs. Given that India need Mohammed Shami’s replacement in the T20 World Cup squad, Arshdeep is showing glimpses that he is ready to make it to the mega tournament.

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2. Explosive Nitish Reddy sets the internet on fire

Not a lot of fans were aware of Nitish Rana’s talent. He showed his class tonight in Mullanpur, as the all-rounder first made 64 runs with the bat, and later picked up the wicket of Jitesh Sharma. Internet was buzzing as Reddy was trending at one point and as per India cricketer Hanuma Vihari, he is a future prospect for the national team.

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3. You got to talk about Shashank

After a match-winning knock in the last match, Shashank brought PBKS closer to the target once again but this time, he couldn’t get the job done. Despite so, his valiant effort of 46 runs off 25 deliveries deserves a lot of credit as he kept Punjab in the hunt till the last over. A bit here and there, and he could have taken PBKS home. 

Losing skipper Shikhar Dhawan said:

I feel that Shashank and Ashutosh played a great knock, we restricted them to a good total, but we couldn't cash in on the first 6 overs, lost 3 wickets and that's where we fell behind and it cost us in the end. When the wicket wasn't offering a lot of bounce, every individual will have to look back and change their approach. We dropped a catch off the last ball, we could have kept them down by 10-15 runs, but batting let us down. It's great to see youngsters chipping in with such consistency (on Shashank and Ashutosh). There was always hope that they could finish the game, but we got so close and that'll give us confidence going into the future games, but we'll have to do better going ahead.

Winning skipper Pat Cummins said:

Was a great game of cricket, they bowled really well at the start, we did well to get to 180. Got too close. Always tried to be positive. They bowled exceptionally with the new ball. With 150, you are going to lose nine out of ten times. We were pretty happy with 180. Conditions maybe (on taking the new ball). Bhuvi and I tried to take a couple of wickets with the new ball. (On Nitish) He was awesome, fantastic in the field, bowled three overs.

POTM Nitish Reddy said:

"For me it's like a big contribution for my team and myself. I have been telling myself that I should believe in myself. Seamers were bowling really well, I didn't want to take on them. I knew that the spinners would come and I wanted to attack them, I just did that. The whole tournament, they are bowling slow bouncers and it's really working. I also used the dimensions. I just want to continue to perform for my team," Reddy said.