Published: Apr 17, 2017, 11:49 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 18, 2017, 12:36 AM (IST)
Manan Vohra finally lived up to the promise he had first shown long back, hammering a classy 95. However, he got virtually no support from the other end as his side Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) went down to hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 5 runs in IPL 2017 Match 19 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium at Uppal, Hyderabad. Vohra’s 95 came on a track where his teammates struggled to put bat to ball. In fact, none of them went past 13. Such was his knock that SRH, who dominated the match for the major part, had no answer to his onslaught. Even Rashid Khan, who has troubled the best of batsmen in IPL 10 so far, was ineffective against Vohra, who took him for cleaners, hitting 4 fours and 3 sixes off his bowling. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kings XI Punjab – Match 19
However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar showed his class, picking up a career-best 5 for 19 to seal the match where fortunes fluctuated like a pendulum. It was his bowling that eventually decided the clash in SRH’s favour. Eoin Morgan (13), Glenn Maxwell (10) and Mohit Sharma were the only other KXIP batsmen to reach double-figures. Had only one more batsmen showed up and Vohra had got more support, match could have went in their favour. With 16 needed off final 12 balls and Vohra still out there in the middle, KXIP still had a chance. But Bhuvneshwar removed KC Cariappa and Vohra in the over to seal the game. Siddarth Kaul then finished the proceedings in the final over by cleaning up Ishant Sharma.
For SRH, it was a collective bowling effort. Bhuvneshwar was well-supported by Moises Henriques (2-0-6-1), Kaul (3.4-0-26-1) and Mohammad Nabi (4-0-28-1). Though Rashid proved costly for the first time in this tournament, he did pick two vital wickets of David Miller and Wriddhiman Saha.
Batting first on a two-paced wicket where the ball often did not come on to the bat, David Warner batted through the 20 overs, remaining unbeaten on a 54-ball 70. He propelled his side to a beyond-par total of 159 for 6. He was supported well by Naman Ojha (34), while other batsmen struggled to get going. Rashid, coming in at No. 8, hit the only ball he faced for six.
Earlier, Glenn Maxwell had opted to bowl first. KXIP made a solitary change for this game, with Ishant Sharma replacing Varun Aaron. SRH, on the other hand, made as many as three changes for this important home game. Barinder Sran and Kaul were brought in for Ashish Nehra and Ben Cutting in like-for-like replacements. Bipul Sharma, the spin-bowling all-rounder, made way for Afghan sensation Nabi. The match, thus, gained historical significance even before the first ball being bowled. This was, after all, first occasion when two players from an Associate Nation were featuring in the same XI in an IPL game.
Warner and Shikhar Dhawan gave a slow start to the SRH innings. Dhawan was the first to fall, trying to hook a short ball from Mohit Sharma for a run-a-ball 15. More than the bowler’s wicket, it was Saha’s, who timed his jump brilliantly to take a smart catch.
Henriques joined Warner, but the KXIP bowlers continued to keep things tight. Akshar Patel removed Henriques and Yuvraj Singh off successive balls. While Henriques was stumped trying to hit the ball out of the park, Yuvraj was caught behind for a golden duck. Then Ojha joined forces with Warner. While the captain decided to drop anchor, Ojha took chances and scored vital runs at brisk pace. They added 60 runs for the fourth wicket and bailed the team out from a precarious situation of 50 for 3. Deepak Hooda and Nabi departed quickly but Warner kept going and brought up his fifty. He also earned the Orange Cap in the process.
Brief score:
Sunrisers Hyderabad 159 for 6 in 20 overs (David Warner 70*, Naman Ojha 20; Mohit Sharma 2 for 25, Akshar Patel 2 for 33) beat Kings XI Punjab 154 all-out in 19.4 overs (Manan Vohra 95; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 5 for 19) by 5 runs.
Man of the Match: Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
