Agencies
Mohali, April 27
The end result might show that Kings XI Punjab lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad by the margin of 20 runs in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 game on Monday in Mohali, but it actually flatters the hosts. Having done brilliantly to restrict SRH to a sub-par total of 150 for 6, the hosts faltered in their chase, losing wickets in heaps and eventually falling short by 20 runs.
Wriddhiman Saha did his best to take his side home, with a fighting 33-ball 42 at the back end of the innings, but with no support from the other end, it turned out to be a total beyond reach.
Chasing 151, Sunrisers Hyderabad suffered a terrible start as Manan Vohra and Shaun Marsh were dismissed before they could make a significant contribution. Vohra inside-edged a wide yorker from Trent Boult onto his stumps, while Marsh departed in the same fashion off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the following over.
George Bailey and Murali Vijay added 32 runs at a fairly quick pace but the duo fell in quick succession. David Miller and Saha propped up the chase with a slow stand, but with the equation reading 80 off 8 overs they knew they needed to step up the pace. Miller looked to target Karn Sharma but could only miscue a slog, and with that wicket KXIP's hopes of clinching a win started to evaporate.
Saha used two dropped chances to swing his arm for a couple good shots, bringing the equation to 46 from the last four overs. Two wickets in Boults last over - Axar Patel bowled for 17 and Saha caught at square leg for 42 - snuffed out any hopes of a thrilling finale, thus giving Sunrisers Hyderabad their third win.
Earlier, David Warner slammed a superb half-century at the start of the innings, giving the visitors a superb platform, but his side was unable to take full advantage. Warner started off in a hurry, doing the bulk of the scoring for his side, and top-scored with 58 off 41 balls. However, KXIP pulled things back admirably through their slower bowlers with Vijay and Patel combining to concede only 41 runs off seven overs, while also taking the important wickets of the SRH captain and a well-set Naman Ojha.
Opting to bowl first, KXIP made a bright start to the game as Mitchell Johnson struck in his first over to send back Shikhar Dhawan. The left-hander was rushed into the pull with a sharp rising delivery, and he could only edge it onto his shoulder and then to Vijay at first slip. Warner, on the other hand, looked in imperious form and helped SRH score at nearly 10 runs an over. Off the first 46 runs scored, Warner had bludgeoned 45 at a dizzying strike rate of 180.
With Warner going great guns at one end, Hanuma Vihari, who was promoted up the order to No. 3, made the cardinal sin of trying to match his captain. He did succeed in hitting two stylish boundaries, but miscued a pull to depart out caught for nine. The wicket and the introduction of spin put the brakes on Sunrisers Hyderabad's scoring, and Warner was only able to score the five runs needed to get to his fifty only three overs later.
Much to SRH's disappointment, however, Warner fell soon after - tamely chipping Axar to Miller at long-on. Ojha and Henriques played a little too patiently for SRH's liking, and SRH were looked set to finish with a total around 140 when Henriques was out bowled in the final over. Ashish Reddy, however, gave his side some more runs to defend as he smashed two consecutive sixes to help his side end with a competitive 150 for 6. It turned out to be 20 runs too many for KXIP at the end.
