IPL 9, Match 46: KXIP v SRH – 5 Talking Points

The Sunrisers Hyderabad consolidated their authority on the top of the points table with a crucial 7-wicket win over the Kings XI Punjab. Some power hitting by Yuvraj Singh and Ben Cutting overpowered the gutsy 96 by KXIP opener Hashim Amla. Kings XI Punjab, with this defeat, are now out off the race for the playoffs. Kings XI Punjab were powered to 179/4 in their 20 overs riding on Amla’s knock. The Sunrisers chased down the total with 7 wickets in hand. SRH now will ensure to stay on the top spot in order to get the privilege of playing in the Qualifier 1 as it assures two shots at the final berth.

1. Hashim Amla’s shows his class:

The Kings XI Punjab were hoping for a good show in the match and were banking on their overseas giant, HashimAmla, to come good soon. Amla, who had a dull season so far, responded with a nonchalant innings of 96 against the Sunrisers. Amla started off with classy drives in the powerplay and then gave himself time in the middle overs before taking the fifth gear mode in the death overs. He lost his opening partner Murali Vijay early in the 5th over and then ensured that he plays the anchor role. Amla brought all his experience into the picture to steer Kings XI to a total of 179/4.

2. Miller chips in with a cameo:

David Miller walked into the middle after the dismissal of Gurkeerat Singh Mann in the 18th over. A lot of eyebrows were raised as Miller was promoted ahead of Glenn Maxwell in the death overs. Miller had a rough run in the tournament so far but showed signs of coming back to form in the match today. With a belligerent 6 and a couple of boundaries, he showed shades of the in-form Miller. He scored a 9-ball 20 during his brief unbeaten stay at the crease.

3. SRH face rare bowling failure, Nehra injures himself:

The Sunrisers Hyderabad are tipped as the team with the best bowling lineup in the tournament. With the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and MustafizurRahman being among the leading wicket-takers, the pace unit of SRH is guided by Ashish Nehra’s experience. However, in the match against the SRH bowling didn’t click. Ashish Nehra pulled a strain during his 3rd over. Mustafizur Rahman, the tournament’s most economical bowler, went for 32 in his quota of 4 overs at an economy higher than his expected standards. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, too, gave away 32 runs in his spell. Moises Henriques was taken for 29 runs in his 3 overs. Though the SRH bowlers picked wickets, they couldn’t contain the run flow against KXIP.

4. Warner packs a punch again and hits his own wicket!

David Warner continued his good run with the bat and plundered runs against the Kings XI Punjab bowling line up. Warner brought up his 6th half century of this season and in the process moved to the second spot in the race to the Orange Cap. Warner scored 52 off 41 balls with 5 fours and a six before being bizarrely dismissed hit-wicket off the bowling of Axar Patel. Warner went deep into his crease in an attempt to nudge the ball to fine leg but ended up pushing his stumps. He became the 3rd batsman to be dismissed hit-wicket this season and incidentally, all three o hem have been SRH batsmen. Yuvraj Singh and Deepak Hooda are the other two batsmen who were dismissed hit-wicket this season.

5. Middle order wins it for SRH:

The SRH middle order has been under the scrutiny in the entire season. They were blamed for being overly dependent on their openers ShikharDhawan and David Warner. However, with SRH openers going back to the shed relatively early, the onus was on the middle-order. Deepak Hooda started the counter attack and was then joined in by Yuvraj Singh. Hooda scored 34 off 22 balls with 3 fours and a six before being dismissed. After his dismissal, Yuvraj Singh looked at his vintage best with sixes over the midwicket coming off some wristy flicks. He was joined by Ben Cutting at the crease. Yuvraj Singh remained unbeaten on 42 off 24 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes. Cutting hit a boundary and 2 sixes, including the winning hit, in his knock of 11-ball 21.

How did the match pan out? – IPL 9 Match 46 Review: Yuvraj blitz takes SRH in to the playoffs