Published: May 06, 2017, 05:56 PM (IST)
Edited: May 06, 2017, 06:42 PM (IST)
Siddharth Kaul’s spell of 4 for 29, coupled with some tight bowling by Rashid Khan and Moises Henriques, restricted Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) to 148 for 8 in their 20 overs in Match 44 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017. Playing against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad, RPS innings never really got going. Barring Ben Stokes’ knock of 39 and MS Dhoni’s late strikes, there was nothing really worth mentioning. Skipper Steven Smith managed a scratchy 34, but other batsmen failed to get going. At the half way stage, SRH look like the side with advantage. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD, Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rising Pune Supergiant – Match 44
Winning the toss on a cloudy day, David Warner invited RPS to bat first. It was not a bad call, with conditions on offer favouring the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Warner’s bowlers, and fielders, did justify his decision. Rahul Tripathi, the man in red-hot form, had to go back early after a terrific throw from Bipul Sharma at short fine leg found him short of his crease. It was a big wicket in the context of the game, with Ajinkya Rahane not amongst the runs of late.
With Tripathi gone early, RPS needed Rahane to fire. He did get a start — and a respite as well — when Kaul decided against going for a catch standing at mid-on. However, Rahane could not make the most of it. In the next over, Bipul got him caught at the long leg for 22.
With score reading 39 for 2 in the 7th over, skipper Smith and Stokes decided to play with caution. They started rotating the strike and avoided playing any rash shot. At the half-way stage, RPS were 51 for 2, with a solitary boundary being hit in their innings. Stokes then shifted the gears, hitting Bipul for back-to-back sixes over the deep mid-wicket boundary in the 11th over of the innings. Bowling Bipul, the left-arm spinner, against Stokes was a bad idea. But with Ashish Nehra walking off the field due to a hamstring problem after bowling just 1.1 overs, Warner was left with no choice but to use Bipul.
Stokes got another six in the same region in Bipul’s next over. He then hit first four of the RPS innings in the 14th over, immediately after completing his 50-run stand with Smith. This phase of play marked a shift in momentum, as RPS slowly made their way back into the game.
But just when Stokes was getting ominous, Rashid knocked-off his leg stump. Stokes got 39 off 25 balls, a knock that included a solitary four and 3 huge sixes. Soon after, Kaul got rid of Smith, who could not really cut loose at any point in his innings, scoring just 34 off 39 balls.
In the same over, Kaul removed Dan Christian for 2-ball 4, reducing RPS to 105 for 5 after 16 overs. Dhoni and Tiwary were then left with the responsibility to add crucial runs in the final four overs, but the RPS innings did not quite find the thrust throughout their innings. Dhoni did go big in the closing stages, hitting Bhuvneshwar for two sixes, but perished for 31 in the final over as RPS finished on 148 for 8.
Brief scores:
Rising Pune Supergiant 148 for 8 in 20 overs (Ben Stokes 39, Steven Smith 34, MS Dhoni 31; Siddharth Kaul 4 for 29, Rashid Khan 1 for 18) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad.
