In a low-scoring but entertaining Indian Premier League encounter in Sharjah on Saturday, young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi took three wickets as Punjab Kings produced a polished bowling display to overcome struggling Sunrisers Hyderabad by five runs. After veteran India pacer Mohammed Shami rocked the run chase early on by removing both David Warner (2) and skipper Kane Williamson (1) cheaply in the first and third overs, the 21-year-old Bishnoi (3/24) went through the SRH middle order. On a slow Sharjah Cricket Stadium pitch, SRH were reduced to 120 for 7 in 20 overs, putting an end to their aspirations of making the play-offs.
Punjab, on the other hand, kept their hopes alive by finishing fifth with eight points from ten games.
With a late onslaught of 47 off just 29 balls, including five sixes, West Indian Jason Holder raised expectations of a dramatic triumph for SRH, but SRH fell short by five runs.
SRH needed 21 runs from the final two overs, and Arshdeep Singh only gave up four runs in the last over.
Holder scored a six in the second ball of the final over bowled by Nathan Ellis, but SRH needed a six to tie the score and send the match to Super Over.
Holder, who had taken three wickets for 19 runs in the Punjab Kings innings, was only able to score one run off the final delivery.
After Power Play, SRH were 20 for 2 and Bishnoi seized over, dismissing the next three batsmen to put an end to the SRH run chase.
In the ninth over, he dismissed Manish Pandey (13) before dismissing Kedar Jadhav (12) and Abdul Samad (1). SRH went from 43 for 3 at half-time to 60 for 5 in the 13th over.
The entrance of Jason Holder at the crease offered SRH some optimism, as the West Indian blasted two sixes in Nathan Ellis’ 16th over to take 16 runs.
Wriddhiman Shah (31) was set at the other end with SRH needing 35 from the final four overs, but he was run out in the 17th over due to a terrible mix-up.
Holder’s three wickets for 19 runs earlier in the innings helped SRH reduce Punjab Kings to 125 for 7 after being brought in to bat.
The Punjab Kings batsmen struggled to get going on a sluggish track and failed to put up any significant partnerships, the best of which was a 30-run stand for the third wicket between Chris Gayle and Aiden Markram, who top-scored with a 32-ball 27.
KL Rahul, who had scored 49 in the last encounter, was knocked early this time, falling to Holder’s first ball in the fifth over for a run-a-ball 21.
Mayank Agarwal (5), who had hit 67 against Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday, was dismissed four balls later after slicing a Holder delivery to Kane Williamson at mid-off.
After Power Play, Punjab Kings were 29 for 2 and could have been three wickets down in the next over if David Warner hadn’t dropped Markram off Khaleel Ahmed.
At halftime, the Mohali-based team was 55 for 2. Chris Gayle avoided his customary big-hitting blows, but was dismissed for 14 off 17 balls by Rashid Khan’s bowling.
The next over, Nicholas Pooran (8) followed his senior West Indian colleague to the dressing room, while Markram’s promising game came to an end in the 15th over as he searched for huge strokes to speed up the innings.
Deepak Hooda (13) struck a few hard strokes before being dismissed by substitute fielder J Suchith, who scooped the ball out of thin air in an incredible fielding attempt.
Punjab Kings scored 14 runs in Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s penultimate over to finish their innings at 125 for 7.
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