Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Shikhar Dhawan’s record unbeaten 99 ended in losing cause as Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) won the game by eight wickets with 17 balls to spare. While Dhawan gave his team a fighting chance despite a major batting collapse, Rahul Tripathi’s unbeaten 78 and skipper Aiden Markram’s sensible knock ensured the first win after two losses. for SRH in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.
Openers fail in run chase
In the run chase of 144, SRH got off to a good start. Harry Brook got promoted as an opener and showed glimpses of what he can do with two fours off Arshdeep Singh. But Arshdeep had the last laugh as Brook got bowled in the same over after scoring 13 runs from 14 balls. After powerplay overs, SRH had 34/1 on the board. Rahul Chahar dismissed Mayank Agarwal as the required run rate climbed up. Agarwal scored 21 runs from 20 balls.
Tripathi anchors run chase
But Tripathi did some damage control with two fours in the same over. In the next over, Tripathi took on Harpreet Brar hitting him for three consecutive fours. Tripathi led the run chase and got to his half-century with a six off debutant Mohit Rathee in the 13th over. In the 15th over, Tripathi smashed Rathee for two fours and one six. 21 runs came off it and it made the run chase easy for SRH. In the 17th over, Markram was on the charge and he hit Nathan Ellis for four fours in an over. In the 18th over, Tripathi finished the run chase with a boundary to guide his side to a comfortable eight-wicket win with 17 balls to spare. Tripathi remained unbeaten for 74 off 48 balls including 10 fours and three sixes. On the other end, Markram hit six fours in his 21-ball 37.
Early collapse
Earlier, Markram won the toss and opted to field first. Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck first ball to send Prabhsimran Singh back to pavillion for a golden duck. Marco Jansen in his first over got the wicket of on-debut Matthew Short. Dhawan found a few boundaries in the powerplay overs. Jansen in his next over got the wicket of Jitesh Sharma to push PBKS on the back foot. In the sixth over, Sam Curran hit Jansen for a six and a four. After powerplay overs, PBKS were 41/3.
Markande mayhem
The partnership seemed to get PBKS back on track. But leg-spinner Mayank Markande got the big wicket of Curran who scored 22 runs from 15 balls. Sikandar Raza came in to bat and threw his wicket away by playing an uppercut. PBKS were 73/5 at halfway stage. Markande in his next over got the wicket of Shahrukh Khan. Umran Malik joined him and got the wicket of Brar. In his next two overs, Markande got the wickets of Chahar and Nathan Ellis.
Dhawan's rescue act
As the ninth wicket fell in the 15th over, Dhawan decided to take matters into his own hands. He started off with two sixes off T Natarajan. In the 18th over, he hit Malik for two sixes and one four. Bhuvneshwar dropped him twice and Dhawan smashed two more fours. In the final over, Natarajan kept Dhawan quiet till the final ball. The opener finished in style with a six and remained not out for 99. He became the second captain in IPL history to remain not out for 99. His 99-run knock studded with 12 fours and five sixes helped PBKS post a respectable total of 143/9. The 55-run partnership with Rathee is the highest for 10th wicket.
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