SRH rise to chase it

SRH’s Abhishek Sharma celebrates his half-century against Punjab Kings yesterday. PICS/AFP

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) signed off their highly successful home campaign when they brushed aside Punjab Kings's challenge by four wickets at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Sunday. The Orange Army burst into rapturous celebrations when Sanvir Singh hit the winning run. Chasing 215, SRH romped home in 19.1 overs.

SRH finished with five wins, one loss and an abandoned match at home. Overall, SRH had eight wins, five losses and one abandoned match to end their league campaign with 17 points. Skipper Pat Cummins led his team in a lap of honour amidst a sea of Orange flags.

Travis Head goes early

Chasing a big target, SRH had a massive setback in the first ball itself as left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh castled in-form big-hitter Travis Head. The early exit of Head did not stop Rahul Tripathi (18-ball 33) and left-hander Abhishek Sharma (66; 28b, 5x4, 6x6) from playing aggressively to give SRH a solid innings. The two smashed 72 runs in five overs. Tripathi was out while going for a big hit and was caught at deep mid-off.

Punjab Kings's Prabhsimran Singh during his 71 yesterday

Abhishek continued his fine form. He hit his 41st six of the season before he holed out to extra cover off Shashank Singh. Abhishek said he was determined to contribute as the target was big. "During the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, I was clear how I was going to play and dominate [in the IPL]. I've been in touch with Brian Lara [former SRH coach]. That's helping me now. I just wait for the loose balls, I am going hard against them and trying to put them [bowlers] under pressure," he said.

Cummins was pretty happy with the win. "It's awesome. We have won six [five] out of seven here. It's been great. I didn't know many guys coming into this season, but we have played great cricket and had some fun." The Aussie Test captain had a word of praise for Abhishek, who he felt was amazing. "I wouldn't want to bowl against him. He's scary,'' said Cummins, adding that Nitish Reddy is a class player as well. "He looks mature beyond his age, he is perfect for the top-order. Really satisfying.''

Reddy, who had an off day as a bowler when he leaked 54 runs in his three overs, hit a 25-ball 37 to keep SRH on course. Left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar impressed yet again, but was unlucky when Harshal Patel dropped a sitter to give Shahbaz Ahmad an early life. Heinrich Klaasen (25-ball 42) found his groove again and made a 26-ball 42, but was out with SRH just seven runs away from a win.

Also Read: Sulakshan Kulkarni will now coach Maharashtra after TN exit

Solid opening start

Earlier, electing to bat, the hard-hitting opening pair of Prabhsimran Singh (71; 45b, 7x4, 4x6) and left hander Atharva Taide (46 off 29 balls) galloped away to 97 runs in 9.1 overs before left-arm seamer T Natarajan broke the partnership by dismissing Taide. With the ball coming on nicely, Prabhsimran punished the SRH attack.

Young Reddy showed brilliance on the field when he ran out the dangerous Shashank Singh, who was attempting a second run while playing to short mid-wicket. Kings lost momentum after the departure of Prabhsimran. South African left-hander Rilee Rossouw (49 off 24b) was the lone overseas player for Punjab as England's trio of Sam Curran, Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone have left to prepare for the T20 World Cup. The left-hander tried to keep SRH's attack at bay. But he too was back in the pavilion, being held in the deep off Cummins.

Sanvir Singh pulled off a stunning catch by running backwards at extra cover to send back Ashutosh Sharma. However, stand-in skipper Jitesh Sharma (32 not out; 15b, 2x4, 2x4) ensured that Kings posted their best score of 214-5 on this ground.