In a dead rubber game, Punjab Kings (PBKS) ended their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 campaign in style with a dominating win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). PBKS chased down the total of 158 with 29 balls to spare as Livingstone blew SRH bowlers away in the middle overs with phenomenal hitting. PBKS finished sixth on the points table with seven wins from 14 games after five-wicket win.
Good start
Chasing 158, PBKS got off to a good start despite an early wicket. Jonny Bairstow scored 23 runs from 15 deliveries before getting dismissed by Fazalhaq Farooqi. Bairstow hit five boundaries in his knock. Back in the side, Shahrukh Khan got promoted up the order. He contributed with a 19-run cameo off 10 deliveries. He hit two fours and one six before getting dismissed by Umran Malik.
Agarwal’s short stay
Skipper Mayank Agarwal came out to bat in the seventh over. Agarwal was hit on the ribs by a short ball from Malik. He could not contribute more and got dismissed by Washington Sundar in the next over.
Livingstone domination
Livingstone walked out to bat with clear intentions of taking on the bowlers. The Englishman got off the mark with a huge six off the first ball he faced. SRH did not do themselves any favour by dropping his catch. Dhawan got bowled by Afghan pacer Farooqi in the 13th over but that did not have an effect on Livingstone. The left-handed batter scored 39 runs from 32 deliveries.
Wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma also walked out to bat looking to finish the game early. Jitesh contributed with a 19-run knock off just seven deliveries.
Livingstone misses fifty
In the 15th over, Livingstone smoked Romario Shepherd for 22 runs in an over including two sixes and as many fours. In the next over, on-debut Prerak Mankad finished off the run chase with a boundary off Malik. On the other end, Livingstone remained unbeaten for 49 off 22 deliveries. PBKS won the match with 29 balls left to spare.
Decent start
Earlier Bhuvneshwar won the toss and opted to bat first. Opener Priyam Garg fell to Kagiso Rabada early in the innings for a single-digit score. Abhishek Sharma dominated PBKS bowlers in the powerplay overs. During the fielding restrictions, they had 43/1 on the board.
Brar strikes twice
Rahul Tripathi hit a few shots but got out to Harpreet Brar in the ninth over trying to play a sweep. Abhishek missed his half-century. Harpreet got rid of him in the next over. The opener scored 43 runs from 32 deliveries.
Quiet middle overs
After an expensive over, Nathan Ellis bowled well in his second over and got the wicket of Nicholas Pooran. The left-arm spinner struck again with the wicket of Aiden Markram. The Proteas batter scored 21 runs from 17 deliveries.
Cameos helped SRH
In the slog overs, Sundar and Shepherd took on the speedsters. From 99/5, they posted 147/5 after the completion of 19th over. Sundar and Shepherd played cameos to help PBKS post a respectable total. However, they could not finish well.
Eventful last over
After Shepherd's six off the first ball off Ellis, Sundar lost his wicket. The southpaw scored 25 runs from 19 deliveries. Ellis was on a hat-trick with the wicket of Jagadeesha Suchith off the next delivery. Bhuvneshwar got run out off the no ball bowled by Ellis. Umran Malik got bowled off the final ball but managed to take a single as it was a free hit delivery. On the other end, the Caribbean all-rounder scored 26 off 15 deliveries.
