It was an incredible ride, to say the least, seeing Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad battle in the 23rd match of the Indian Premier League (2024). On Tuesday, April 9, at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, both teams engaged in fierce combat.
In the match, SRH scored a whopping 182 runs in the opening half. With the first three batters out of the game during the powerplay, the side was in trouble as the hosts came out to chase the total.
Shikhar Dhawan scored fourteen runs, while Prabhsimran Singh managed just four runs. Jonny Bairstow was out for a duck. Still, Punjab came within a whisker of victory because of the middle order’s tenacity.
With 46 runs in 25 deliveries, Shashank Singh remained unbeaten, while Ashutosh Sharma scored 33 runs in 15 balls. In the game’s last over, Ashutosh scored 27 runs, but he was three runs short of the mark as SRH prevailed by two runs.
Also read: Possible scenarios for IPL 2024 qualification: How can the Punjab Kings make it to the playoffs following SRH’s victory over PBKS?
Ashutosh Sharma and Shashank Singh put in heroic at-bat performances during the second inning, which captain Shikhar Dhawan praised after the game.
Hashank and Ashutosh executed excellent knocks. I think the amount we kept them at was reasonable. The game was lost because, regrettably, we were unable to capitalize on the opening six overs. That really hurt our feelings. Everybody needs to make better plans because the wicket wasn’t providing much bounce. “Of course we would want to change our strokes because we got out,” Dhawan remarked during the post-match awards ceremony.
In addition, Shikhar Dhawan emphasized Punjab’s poor batting performance and the necessity for the top order to play to its full potential given the performance of middle-order players like Ashutosh and Shashank.
“We didn’t play well as a batting unit. It is critical that the highest-order function. It’s wonderful to see those young people joining in and contributing, especially Ashutosh and Shasank. After this setback, we will overcome it. The possibility that they could complete the game never went away. They deserve praise for having gotten this close. It instills optimism and confidence in us for the upcoming match. We have to get better and excel in some areas,” Dhawan continued.
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