Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) yet again proved that no total is small to defend as they bowled out Kings XI Punjab (KXIP)  for 119 who were chasing a target of 133 with an exceptional display of disciplined bowling. Punjab were cruising towards the finish line as their openers Chris Gayle and K.L. Rahul gave a solid start by scoring 53 runs in just 7 overs. With a small total on board, SRH skipper Kane Williamson went in for the attack as he introduced Rashid Khan and Basil Thampi to get the game back in control.  The script immediately changed in SRH’s favour as Rashid Khan dismissed K.L. Rahul with a splendid delivery. Basil Thampi then got the wicket of Chris Gayle immediately in the next over and then it was a complete disaster for KXIP as the batting order collapsed.

None of the KXIP’s batsmen were able to register a significant score as SRH’s bowlers mounted more pressure with the likes of Sandeep Sharma, Basil Thampi and Shakib Al Hasan taking two wickets each. The star bowler was Rashid Khan who picked three wickets for 19 runs with an economy rate of just 4.75. With clever deception of the wrong ones and the flippers, Rashid continuously asked question to KXIP’s batsmen. Eventually SRH won the game by 13 runs.

Earlier in the game, KXIP won the toss and put the opposition to bat. KXIP with the heroics of Ankit Rajpoot managed to dismiss SRH for a small total of 132. Ankit Rajpoot who picked up the first 5 wicket haul of this season’s IPL was adjudged the Man of the Match. He picked up the wicket of Kane Williamson in the very first over of the game before going  on to scalp Shikhar Dhawan and Wriddhiman Saha in his second and third over respectively. He ended his spell with figures of 5 for 14. Manish Pandey capitalized on KXIP’s poor fielding and catching as he put up a steady fight and scored 54 runs. He and Shakib constructed a 52 run partnership before Mujeeb Ur Rahman struck to dismiss Shakib. With poor catching techniques, KXIP was bound to lose the game as catches win matches.

SRH who had earlier successfully defended 118 against Mumbai Indians, managed to defend yet another small score convincingly.  SRH who seem to have the best bowling lineup in this year’s IPL, have backed their batsmen very well in almost every single game. KXIP’s Captain Ravichandran Ashwin will be hoping to put the nightmares of this match to bed, as they carry forward to fight for their position at the top of the points table.

Brief Scores

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 132/6 (Manish Pandey 54; Ankit Rajpoot 5/14) beat Kings XI Punjab :119 all out ( K.L. Rahul 32; Rashid Khan 3/19) by 13 runs.