Following their six-wicket defeat to Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their IPL 2026 clash on April 11, Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Ishan Kishan expressed his frustration over the team's inability to finish their innings effectively. Despite the hosts successfully chasing the target with seven balls remaining under Shreyas Iyer's guidance, Kishan pointed to his own side's batting execution in the final overs as a primary reason for the loss.
We could have ended up with a total of 250: Ishan Kishan
The captain noted that the team had established more than enough early momentum to post a far more daunting total. The opening pair of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma finally clicked, living up to their reputation by fueling a record-breaking powerplay score of 105. This explosive start appeared to set the stage for a massive finish that would have likely put the game out of reach for Punjab.
However, the innings drastically lost its rhythm during the middle and closing stages. Kishan lamented that the batting unit could not sustain the high-octane tempo, allowing the Punjab Kings' bowlers to regain control and apply the brakes. Consequently, SRH were restricted to 219 runs, but one that fell short of what had been promised by their dominant start.
"In the middle, we could have ended up with a total of 250, at least the way we got started. But things happen. We did not end up getting those runs," Kishan said at the post-match press conference.
We were not that great today: Kishan
The loss of momentum was most apparent during the critical death overs, a period where Sunrisers Hyderabad's scoring rate slowed significantly. During these final overs, the team managed to add only 37 runs to their total, a disappointing output given the explosive start they had enjoyed earlier in the match. In addition to the sluggish run rate, SRH hampered their own progress by losing three key wickets during this stretch. This cluster of dismissals prevented any lower-order acceleration and allowed the Punjab Kings to seize back control of the game’s narrative just before the innings break.
"I feel we were not so good with the execution. Like I said earlier, in T20 cricket, the most important thing is execution of your good balls. So we were not that great today," he added.
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PBKS ignited their chase with a ferocious start, matching the intensity of their opponents by racing to a score of 93 without loss during the powerplay. This early dominance threatened to take the game away quickly, but Sunrisers Hyderabad managed to fight their way back into the contest. The turnaround was sparked by Shivam Sharma, who delivered a clinical spell to dismiss the top three batsmen in rapid succession, temporarily shifting the momentum back in favor of the bowling side.
Despite these crucial breakthroughs, SRH ultimately failed to defend their formidable 200-plus total. Reflecting on the defeat, interim captain Ishan Kishan was candid about the team's shortcomings, admitting that a lack of discipline and poor execution with the ball proved to be their undoing. He suggested that even with the middle-order breakthroughs, the inability to consistently hit their marks during the latter stages of the chase allowed the game to slip through their fingers.
“We had six or seven bowlers. It showed in their (PBKS) batting that it was easier scoring runs for them. I think in today’s age, you don’t have to plan much — you just stay ahead of the game. You know which batter hits where. When you don’t execute your balls, you have nothing — you just end up conceding 10–20 extra runs,” Ishan further stated.