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Punjab Stuns Chennai

Brar and Chahar applied brakes on CSK’s batting in the middle overs through their nagging line and length to return with collective figures of 4-33 in eight overs and an economy rate of 4.25…reports Asian Lite News

Spinners Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar took two wickets each in economical bowling spells of 2-17 and 2-16, while Jonny Bairstow and Rilee Rossouw hit useful 40s each to help Punjab Kings register a seven-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday.

Brar and Chahar applied brakes on CSK’s batting in the middle overs through their nagging line and length to return with collective figures of 4-33 in eight overs and an economy rate of 4.25, while conceding no boundaries, as the hosts’ were restricted to a below-par 162/7.

In reply, Bairstow and Rossouw hit 46 and 43 respectively while sharing a 64-run stand for the second wicket. Shashank Singh and Sam Curran ensured PBKS completed the chase with seven wickets in hand and 13 balls to spare. PBKS are now at seventh place in the points table, after pulling off their fifth victory in a row over CSK, who were hampered by dew and losing Deepak Chahar to hamstring injury just two balls into the second innings.

For CSK, barring captain Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 62, other batters struggled to get on top of PBKS bowlers on a fresh red-soil pitch having turn and bounce for spinners. After losing no wicket in power-play, CSK had a platform set for a big total. But Brar and Chahar turned the game on its head by bowling stump to stump line and allowing the odd ball to get some turn to set the base for PBKS outclassing CSK in their home den.

Pushed into batting first, Gaikwad was stylish in punching and ramping Arshdeep Singh for a brace of fours in the second over. Though Arshdeep got a change of ends, he was hit for 14 runs in the fifth over – Rahane slammed him over point, while Gaikwad cut him twice through the same region to take three boundaries off it.

Rahane brought out the pull, cut and punch off Curran on the last three deliveries of the sixth over, and take CSK to 55/0 at the end of power-play, making it the first time in this season of them not losing a wicket in the six-over phase.

But once Curran brought spinners on, PBKS were able to put in an almighty squeeze on CSK, who couldn’t get a boundary in the middle overs. Rahane holed out to deep mid-wicket off Brar, who trapped a sweeping Shivam Dube plumb lbw for a golden duck. Chahar joined in by trapping Ravindra Jadeja lbw, who was looking to play it on the leg-side.

Impact Player Sameer Rizvi’s laborious innings ended when he was caught by a sliding third man, while trying to ramp off Harshal Patel. But Gaikwad continued to stay afloat, getting his fifty in 44 balls by hammering Curran over long-on for six and pulled the left-arm pacer for another maximum to take 15 runs off the 16th over.

Moeen Ali lofted Arshdeep for six and four respectively, before the pacer bounced back by castling Gaikwad with a yorker. The call to get Chahar bowl the 19th over paid off when the leg-spinner castled Moeen. MS Dhoni powered a four and six off a wayward Arshdeep in the final over to take CSK past 160, before being run-out on the last ball, also ending his streak of seven unbeaten knocks in the competition.

Chasing 163, Prabhsimran Singh hit a 10-ball 13 before a leading edge on his flick was caught by mid-off, giving Richard Gleeson his maiden IPL wicket. But Rilee Rossouw was unstoppable from the get go – taking consecutive fours each off Gleeson and Mustafizur Rahman.

From the other end, Bairstow cut and pulled Shardul Thakur for a brace of fours as PBKS reached 52/1 at the end of power-play. Post that, Bairstow was severe on Jadeja in his opening over, cutting at the last moment and pulling powerfully to take two fours.

It felt like Bairstow began from where he left in his 48-ball 100 against Kolkata Knight Riders last week – seen from him pulling and slog-sweeping off Moeen for six and four respectively. After cutting Jadeja for another four, Bairstow’s knock ended when a short ball from Dube, bowling for the first time in IPL 2024, was ramped behind to keeper.

But Rossouw pulled him for six over square leg, followed a four cut through cover to take 14 from the tenth over. Shardul Thakur came in to castle Rossouw with a full toss, and he could have got Shashank’s wicket if Daryl Mitchell hadn’t made mess of a chance at mid-off.

Shashank and Curran hit five boundaries between themselves while sharing an unbroken 50-run stand off 37 balls for the fourth wicket to ensure PBKS got another win on the road, with the winning runs coming off an overthrow.

Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings 162/7 in 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 62, Ajinkya Rahane 29; Rahul Chahar 2-16, Harpreet Brar 2-17) lost to Punjab Kings 163/3 in 17.5 overs (Jonny Bairstow 46, Rilee Rossouw 43; Shivam Dube 1-14, Richard Gleeson 1-30) by seven wickets

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Punjab Kings Clinch Thriller

The star performer for Punjab was the debutant Shashank Singh who continued scoring boundaries and kept the visitors in the game…reports Asian Lite News

Shashank Singh’s breathtaking unbeaten 61 and Ashutosh Sharma’s rapid-fire knock of 31 runs helped Punjab Kings (PBKS) beat host Gujarat Titans (GT) by three wickets with one ball to spare in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Thursday.

Chasing the daunting target of 200, the Punjab Kings opener started on an aggressive note collecting 13 runs in the very first over of Azmatullah Omarzai. Bairstow known for his batting prowess cut the first delivery to backward point and then slapped through the covers for the boundary.

The Ahmedabad crowd roared in joy as Umesh Yadav rattled the in-form Shikhar Dhawan’s wicket off an inside edge. Skipper Dhawan got out for just one run. Prabhsimran Singh came at No.4 and got off the mark with a single through cover. The very eventful second over of the inning ended with a four as Prabhsimran stamped his authority through to sweeper cover for a boundary of Yadav’s pace delivery.

Yadav bowling the fourth and his second over of the inning got hammered for 12 runs as Prabhsimran collected a boundary and a maximum in the over.

Rashid Khan, who usually bowls in the middle overs, was introduced in the fifth over of the inning and ended with nine runs including a boundary. Bairstow looked attacking against the Pacers, hence skipper Gill brought spinners from both ends.

Left-arm Chinaman Noor Ahmad bagged the big wicket as he knocked out Bairstow’s middle-leg stump for 22. The home crowd roared once again as Noor tossed the ball up and landed it on a length outside leg. Bairstow completely missed the line of the ball and left a gap between the bat and the pad, and the ball sneaked through it and deflected off the back pad to rattle the stumps. Bairstow blasted 22 off 13 deliveries.

Prabhsimran Singh joined Sam Curran in the middle and continued collecting boundaries off loose deliveries, hammering 35 off 24 deliveries. Noor made things difficult for Punjab Kings once again by claiming a wicket for GT in his very next over.

Prabhsimran, who was looking solid at the crease, fell to poor shot selection. Noor tossed up the googly landing it around the middle and off, Prabhsimran was early into his shot and made up his mind to go across the line. All he managed was a top edge and Mohit Sharma, fielding at short third, hardly had to move his feet to complete the catch.

With two new batters (Sikandar Raza and Curran) on the crease, it was never easy for Punjab. Noor with two wickets in two overs mounted the pressure on the visitors. The Required Run Rate (RRR) has already increased to 11 runs per over. The onus was now on Curran, who had played the match-winning inning of 63 runs against Delhi Capitals in Punjab Kings’ first match IPL 2024.

The RRR pressure brought the big wicket of Curran as Omarzai, bowling his second over, got rid of him. Curran wanted to swivel and pull to exploit the space between deep square leg and long-on, but failed to get the elevation and hit it straight to Kane Williamson, fielding at short midwicket, and was out for 5 runs.

At the end of 10 overs, Punjab were 83 for 4 with Shashank Singh batting on 7 off 4 deliveries and Raza on 7 off 4 deliveries. Shashank thumped Noor for a maximum after collecting a single of his first delivery of the tenth over. The game was still wide open for both the teams as Punjab required 117 of the last 10 overs and the host needed six wickets.

Umesh Yadav was brought back into the attack and was taken to task as Shashank hammered him for 17 runs in the over. After three singles of the first three balls, the next three delivery fetched the batter 4, 6, 4. The Struggling Raza got out to Mohit Sharma trying to chip the full-length delivery over covers but only managed to get the thin edge to the wicketkeeper, scoring 15 runs.

The star performer for Punjab was the debutant Shashank Singh who continued scoring boundaries and kept the visitors in the game. Jitesh Sharma came at number seven and got off the mark with a single. However, the turning point of the game came in the last over of Rashid’s spell when Jitesh smashed back-to-back sixes before getting out on the very next delivery, scoring 16 off 8 deliveries. But still, Punjab had the edge with Shashank Singh timing the ball very well.

Punjab introduced their Impact Player Ashutosh Sharma, a debutant, in place of Arshdeep Singh. With 41 required off 18 deliveries, Sharma struck back-to-back boundaries to Omarzai and then collected a boundary on the last delivery. It was a big over that fetched 18 runs for Punjab, leaving them needing 25 off the last 12 deliveries. Shashank Singh scored his maiden IPL half-century in just 25 deliveries, and it came when it mattered the most.

Mohit Sharma, bowling his last over of the spell, was smoked for a maximum on the second delivery by Sharma. A double off the bat and off a leg bye took Punjab very close to the target. Sharma scored a single and then Shashank hammered a maximum on the last delivery of Mohit’s spell — Punjab now needed 7 runs in six balls to win the match.

The drama continued as Darshan Nalkande, bowling his first over of the match, claimed the prized wicket of Ashutosh Sharma with the batter chipping it straight to long-off. However, Shaskank maintained his calm and after a wide and a single from Harpreet Brar, won the match for Punjab Kings with a boundary.

Brief score:

Gujarat Giants 199/4 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 89 not out, Sai Sudarshan 33; Kagiso Rabada 2-44, Harpreet Brar 1-33) lose to Punjab Kings 200/7 in 19.5 overs (Shashank Singh 61 not out, Prabhsimran Singh 35; Noor Ahmad 2-32, Darshan Nalkande 1-6) by three wickets

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Mumbai chase down Punjab’s 215 for 5th win

Kishan slammed a terrific 75 while Suryakumar brought out his innovative array of shots in a whirlwind 66 as the duo shared a match-winning partnership of 116 for the third wicket to help Mumbai Indians chase down 215…reports Asian Lite News

When Punjab Kings, after being put in to bat first, posted 214/3, thanks to Liam Livingstone’s scintillating 82 off 42 balls and Jitesh Sharma continuing his good form to be unbeaten on 49 off 27 balls, while sharing a 119-run stand for the fourth wicket, it seemed Mumbai Indians were on the backfoot.

After conceding 69 runs in the last five overs, Mumbai were even further pushed backwards when Rishi Dhawan dismissed Rohit Sharma for a three-ball duck in the first over and lost Cameron Green in the last over of power-play.

But Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav had other ideas at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium on Wednesday. In front of a vociferous crowd, Kishan slammed a terrific 75 while Suryakumar brought out his innovative array of shots in a whirlwind 66 as the duo shared a match-winning partnership of 116 for the third wicket to help Mumbai Indians chase down 215 and beat Punjab Kings by six wickets.

Though the duo fell in the back-end of the chase, Tilak Varma and Tim David kept the attack going to complete the chase with seven balls to spare. The win also means Mumbai have ten points and have gone past Punjab to be at sixth position in the points table.

Ishan got going by hitting Arshdeep Singh for back-to-back fours through the off-side, before smacking length balls from Rishi over long-on for two sixes. Suryakumar, Mumbai’s impact player, was off the blocks with his pull, cuts and sweep off Rahul Chahar.

From the other end, Kishan danced down the pitch to hammer a four off Harpreet Brar and then sat down to smack high over deep mid-wicket for six. After flat-batting off Chahar for four, Kishan got his fifty in 29 balls.

Suryakumar took on Curran by slicing over deep backward point and lofting a drive over cover for two sixes. He then drove past the bowler and picked off wrists beautifully to hit two fours, the second of which got him his fifty in 23 balls.

His hitting prowess continued by flaying Ellis over point and flicking Arshdeep for a brace of fours. Kishan further teared into Arshdeep by hammering over deep mid-wicket for six and slamming down the ground twice for two fours.

The Mohali crowd found its voice when Suryakumar mistimed a cut to short third man off Ellis and Kishan hooked straight to deep fine leg off Arshdeep. Varma ensured momentum stayed with Mumbai by pulling Arshdeep for six, scooping the next ball for four and launching another six over deep mid-wicket.

David chipped in with a cheeky dab off Curran for four and sliced off Arshdeep for the same result, before Tilak finished off the chase in style with a huge straight six slammed down the ground.

Earlier, at the end of the 12th over, Punjab were 99/3 and a slowdown seemed imminent. But Livingstone and Jitesh joined forces to take them past 200. For Mumbai, barring Piyush Chawla’s 2/29, all bowlers were at the receiving end of carnage from Livingstone and Jitesh.

Punjab suffered an early blow when Prabhsimran Singh slashed away and was caught behind by Ishan Kishan off Arshad in the second over. Shikhar Dhawan and Matthew Short struck some good boundaries on fuller and short lengths, with the former earning a life as short third man shelled a chance in the seventh over.

But Chawla had the last laugh by beating a charging-down-the-ground Dhawan with a googly and getting him easily stumped, followed by bowling his googly slower through the air to rattle Short’s off-stump.

Livingstone was quick off the blocks, guiding Chawla past keeper for four, followed by thumping and swiping debutant pacer Akash Madhwal for four and six respectively. Jitesh had a rollicking start to his knock – smashing Archer over wide long-off, a thick outside edge flying past short third man and pull going past deep mid-wicket to take three fours off a 21-run 13th over.

Livingstone feasted on Arshad’s deliveries, steering and cutting short balls with ease, before slicing a yorker between point and short third man to hit three boundaries in the 15th over. Then came Jitesh’s turn to take runs off Arshad in the 17th over – slamming a length ball down the ground for a huge six, followed by launching a full toss over the bowler’s head for a boundary.

After Livingstone got his fifty in 32 balls with a stunning cover drive off Madhwal, he smacked Archer for a hat-trick of sixes in the 19th over – hammering twice over long-on while smacking one down the ground as Punjab crossed 200-mark, only to end up on the losing side.

Brief Scores: Punjab Kings 214/3 in 20 overs (Liam Livingstone 82 not out, Jitesh Sharma 49 not out; Piyush Chawla 2/29, Arshad Khan 1/48) lost to Mumbai Indians 216/4 in 18.5 overs (Ishan Kishan 75, Suryakumar Yadav 66; Nathan Ellis 2/34, Rishi Dhawan 1/20) by six wickets

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Punjab gets back to winning ways, beat Lucknow by two wickets


Lucknow had a fiery start to their defence of 159 as debutant pacer Yudhvir Singh Charak. had Atharva Taide top-edging a pull to third man. On the second ball of his next over, he sent Prabhsimran Singh’s off-stump on a cartwheel ride with a superb nip-backer…reports Asian Lite News

Though Punjab Kings missed the services of regular skipper and opener Shikhar Dhawan due to a niggle, Sikandar Raza stood up to hit his first IPL fifty while Shahrukh Khan applied finishing touches with a late cameo to take the side to a two-wicket triumph over Lucknow Super Giants at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Saturday.

After stand-in captain Sam Curran picked 3-31, the best figures by a bowler on IPL captaincy debut while Kagiso Rabada to 2-34 to keep Lucknow to 159/8, Raza hit 57 off 41 balls to bring Punjab’s chase on track on a tricky pitch. Shahrukh then slammed 23 not out off just 10 balls to ensure the side’s third victory in the competition.

For Lucknow, who have faced their first loss at home in the ongoing season, questions will be raised over introducing leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi late in the attack, from the 15th over, as well as of captain K.L. Rahul making 74, but taking the anchor role for long in the middle overs.

Lucknow had a fiery start to their defence of 159 as debutant pacer Yudhvir Singh Charak. had Atharva Taide top-edging a pull to third man. On the second ball of his next over, he sent Prabhsimran Singh’s off-stump on a cartwheel ride with a superb nip-backer.

Matthew Short was impressive in his 22-ball 34 — pulling, driving, and flicking with ease against Avesh Khan while taking back-to-back fours on short balls from Yudhvir. He then dispatched an overpitched ball from K Gowtham with a lofted drive over long-on for six.

But the off-spinner had the last laugh as on the last ball of Power-play, Short punched straight to a reverse-cupping mid-off. From ther’, Lucknow’s bowlers kept things under control, as Harpreet Bhatia heaved straight to deep backward square leg off Krunal Pandya in the 11th over, despite surviving a direct-hit chance previously.

Raza injected momentum in the chase by lofting Gowtham down the ground for six, followed by hoicking two sixes and a four off short balls from Krunal through the mid-wicket region in the 13th over.

Though Curran and Jitesh Sharma fell cheaply, Raza marched forward to pull Mark Wood through the gap between deep square leg and fine leg to perfection for four and took a single through deep backward square leg to get his fifty in 34 balls.

With Shahrukh teeing off from the word go by smacking Wood over long-on for six, Raza crunched a drive off Avesh for four to bring the equation to 23 runs needed off 18 balls. But Bishnoi dismissed Raza for 57 after the right-handed batter swept straight to deep backward square leg.

Shahrukh got a top edge on six off Wood while Harpreet Brar drove him through extra cover for four. But the pacer bounced back by getting Brar to edge behind in the penultimate over. After taking two runs each on the first two balls, Shahrukh finished off the chase by hammering Bishnoi through long-off for four to seal the win.

Earlier, captain K.L. Rahul top-scored with 74 off 56 balls in Lucknow’s strange innings. The hosts were at 49/0 in Power-play but made only 62/4 in the middle overs and faltered in the end as Punjab picked four wickets while conceding only 48 runs in the last five overs.

Kyle Mayers began by sweeping Short for a six over deep backward square leg, while Raul hit a stunning lofted inside-out drive over extra cover for four off Rabada. Mayers hit sixes off Curran and Rabada over deep mid-wicket but holed out to deep backward square leg off Brar post-Power-play. Deepak Hooda was then trapped lbw by a skiddy delivery from Raza.

Rahul went for strike-rotation alongside Krunal while cutting off Curran past short third and slapping Arshdeep over mid-on to collect a brace of boundaries. He got his fifty in 40 balls with a lofted drive over Rahul Chahar’s head for four.

But Krunal fell in the 15th over to Rabada, miscuing a pull and Shahrukh at deep mid-wicket flicked the ball in the air, went outside and took the catch on the rebound. The fast bowler then had Nicholas Pooran holing out to deep mid-wicket, falling for a golden duck.

Marcus Stoinis teed off by smacking Chahar for consecutive sixes, but Curran took him out in the 18th over by taking a review on the batter trying to glance through fine leg, and replays showed the ball taking a glove edge behind to the keeper.

Rahul then holed out to long-on off Arshdeep in the 19th over, before Curran had Impact Player Gowtham and Yudhvir holing out to fielders in the deep on consecutive deliveries in the final over to keep Lucknow to one short of 160.

Brief scores:

Lucknow Super Giants 159/8 in 20 overs (K.L. Rahul 74, Kyle Mayers 29; Sam Curran 3-31, Kagiso Rabada 2-34) lost to Punjab Kings 161/8 in 19.3 overs (Sikandar Raza 57, Matthew Short 34; Ravi Bishnoi 2-18, Yudhvir Singh Charak 2-19) by two wickets

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Mohit, Gill guide Gujarat to a six-wicket victory

Thursday’s victory is Gujarat’s third win of the ongoing season and takes them to third place on the points table, while Punjab were handed their second loss of the tournament….reports Asian Lite News

Opener Shubman Gill notched up his second half-century of IPL 2023 while fast bowler Mohit Sharma marked his comeback in the tournament with a stellar spell to lead the way for Gujarat Titans to beat Punjab Kings by six wickets at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium on Thursday.

Thursday’s victory is Gujarat’s third win of the ongoing season and takes them to third place on the points table, while Punjab were handed their second loss of the tournament. Mohit, a previous Purple Cap winner in the IPL, was a net bowler for Gujarat in clinching their maiden title last year.

On Thursday, he shone through with his 2-18 in four overs, bowling slower balls and maintaining tight lines. Mohit also bowled 12 dot balls, as he led a clinical bowling performance from Gujarat to restrict Punjab to 153/8.

The defending champions were on course for a comfortable chase, thanks to Gill’s serene 67 off 49 balls, laced with seven fours and a six. With seven runs needed off the final over, after Arshdeep Singh conceded only six runs in the 19th, Gill survived a run-out chance, before Sam Curran uprooted his off-stump on the very next ball, bringing sudden tension into the match.

After Curran nailed two back-to-back yorkers, David Miller completed the second run with a desperate dive. With four runs needed off the last two balls, Rahul Tewatia calmly finished off the chase by moving across and scooping a full ball from Curran over short fine leg for four to seal the deal for Gujarat with a ball to spare.

Gujarat were off to a flier as Gill eased into a cover drive off Arshdeep for four. Wriddhiman Saha launched into Arshdeep by driving, whipping, pulling and slicing with disdain to take four boundaries in the third over.

But a bouncer from Rabada in the fifth over saw Saha pulling straight to deep square leg, giving the fast bowler his 100th IPL wicket. Sai Sudharsan immediately got going with a delightful punch through point for four.

Sudharsan and Gill kept the scoreboard ticking through strike rotation, with the latter taking two boundaries off Rahul Chahar through a cut and lofting inside-out over extra cover. But Sudharsan fell in the 12th over, pulling straight to deep fine leg. Three overs later, Hardik Pandya holed out to long-on off Harpreet Brar.

Gill brought up his fifty in the 16th over with a nonchalant lofted cover drive off Chahar. He left fans astonished by playing a tennis-like forehand that flew past the non-striker off Curran for four and stood tall to pull Rabada nonchalantly over a deep square leg for six. Though he fell in the final over, Tewatia ensured Gujarat got over the line.

Earlier, at the end of the powerplay, Punjab were cruising at 52/2. But Gujarat’s bowlers, led by Mohit, gave away only 42 runs in the middle overs and picked four wickets in the last five overs to keep Punjab to a below-par total. 50% of the deliveries bowled by Gujarat’s fast bowlers were on short/back-of-length regions, thus limiting Punjab’s run flow as they played 56 dot balls in their innings.

Prabhsimran Singh fell for his second consecutive duck, flicking to mid-wicket off Mohammed Shami. Matthew Short got going by striking Shami for back-to-back fours through punch and pull shots.

Shikhar Dhawan looked majestic in slicing and driving Joshua Little through the off-side. But the left-arm pacer had the last laugh, as Dhawan danced down the pitch for a flick, but ended up skying to a backtracking mid-on.

Short looked glorious in driving Shami twice through cover, while glancing and pulling off Alzarri Joseph for four and six. He ended the power-play with a straight drive down the ground off Little. His knock came to an end when he missed a googly from Rashid Khan and saw the ball crashing into stumps.

With Gujarat tightening the run-flow through consistent hitting of length balls, Jitesh Sharma used Rashid’s pace to pull twice and paddle sweep once to get three boundaries. He welcomed Shami with a straight drive down the ground and survived an inside edge to get a brace of fours in the 12th over.

Jitesh fell in the 13th over off Mohit, missing a punch against a back of the length ball which just moved away a little. Saha, who caught the ball and was the only one appealing, managed to convince Hardik to take a review, which showed a thin outside edge.

Four overs later, Rajapaksa’s painful stay at the crease ended when he chipped a full toss from Joseph straight to deep mid-wicket. Curran went for a pull off an off-cutter from Mohit, but found deep mid-wicket.

Shahrukh Khan got some cheer from the Mohali crowd by pulling Joseph over deep midwicket for six, before lofting a low full toss from Shami over long-on for same result. He ramped a slower ball from Mohit over short third, before Harpreet’s straight six down the ground took Punjab above 150.

Brief scores:

Punjab Kings 153/8 in 20 overs (Matthew Short 36, Jitesh Sharma 25; Mohit Sharma 2-18, Rashid Khan 1-26) lost to Gujarat Titans 154/4 in 19.5 overs (Shubman Gill 67, Wriddhiman Saha 30; Harpreet Brar 1-20, Sam Curran 1-25) by six wickets

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Finally risen ‘Hyderabad’ thrash Punjab Kings

Sunrisers Hyderabad got off to a modest start as they managed 34/1 in the Power-play. At the same time, Punjab Kings were 41/3…reports Asian Lite News

Rahul Tripathi smashed a vital unbeaten half-century after spinner Mayank Markande claimed a four-fer on debut as Sunrisers Hyderabad thrashed Punjab Kings, for whom Shikhar Dhawan blasted 99 not out, by eight wickets in Match 14 of IPL 2023 here on Sunday. ,

Tripathi smacked 74 off 48 deliveries while skipper Aiden Markram smashed 37 off 21 deliveries as they raised 100 runs for the unfinished third wicket partnership off 51 balls as Sunrisers Hyderabad scored 145/2 in 17.1 overs chasing a modest score of 143/9 in 20 overs built on an unbeaten 99 by PBKS skipper Shikhar Dhawan.

The PBKS innings was destroyed by rookie leg spinner Markahde who claimed his first four-fer with a 4-15, making use of the conditions.

Markande, making his debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad, was the pick of the SRH bowlers as he claimed the wickets of Sam Curran (22), Shahrukh Khan (5), Rahul Chahar (0) and Nathan Ellis (0), bowling to a superb line and length and mixing up his googlies and leg-spinners superbly to keep the batter guessing.

This was Sunrisers Hyderabad’s first win this season after defeats in their first two matches. PBKS suffered their first defeat after two wins.

Sunrisers Hyderabad got off to a modest start as they managed 34/1 in the Power-play. At the same time, Punjab Kings were 41/3.

The fact that they did not lose too many wickets early in their innings, thus making their chase of the modest target of 144 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here, look early.

There was an early stutter when they lost Harry Brook for 13 after he had struck three fours during his 14-ball stay. Mayank Agarwal and Rahul Tripathi took the score to 47 before Agarwal, who has moved PBKS to SRH this season, was out after a 20-ball 21, hitting three fours.

However, Rahul Tripathi and skipper Aiden Markram batted sensibly on a pitch that was offering swing and seam and was also helping the spinners.

Tripathi was the star for the team as he slogged Rahul Chahar flat over wide midwicket just over Sam Curran for a six and then struck the spinner for fours off successive balls in the 9th over. Harpreet Brar was smacked for three fours in the 10th over as Tripathi hammered fours off successive deliveries, the second one a beauty to execute which he came down the track and lofted inside out over extra cover.

He smashed two sixes off Mohit Rathee and followed up the second one with a reverse-sweep four over point and another four in the next ball, driving square behind point and beating the sweeper to the rope.



He got good support from his skipper Aiden Markram as they added 100 runs for the unfinished third-wicket partnership off 51 deliveries.

Initially, the South African batter played second fiddle to Tripathi before slicing Nathan Ellist behind point for a four. He hammered Ellis for four successive fours in the 17th over as Sunrisers romped to victory.

Skipper Shikhar Dhawan played a lone hand for Punjab Kings, smashing an unbeaten 99 as he batted through the innings, helping his team recover from 88/9 to reach a modest total of 143/9 in 20 overs.

At one time, it looked like Punjab may not even reach 100, but Dhawan had other ideas as he went after the bowling, shielding last-man Mohit Rathee (1 not out) to add 55 runs for the last-wicket partnership.

Dhawan blasted 12 boundaries and five sixes during his sensational innings and ended up scoring 69.2% of his team’s runs. This is the second-highest per cent after Brendon McCullum blazed to 158 out of KKR’s total of 222 (71.2%) in the first match in IPL history in 2008.

SRH ended the Power-play at 41/3 before Sam Curran and Dhawan repaired the innings a bit and took them past 50. Curran swatted Jansen for a six over wide long-on and then followed it up with a drive over extra-cover for a one-bounce four. The English batter punched W Sundar for four and struck Mayank Markande for a boundary in the 9th over.

But Markande had the last laugh as he claimed Curran with a superb googly spinning away as the batter miscued an easy catch to short third man. He scored 22 off 15 balls, hitting three fours and one six as PBKS were down to 63/4. Sikandar Raza (5), M Shahrukh Khan (4), Harpreet Brar (1), Rahul Chahar (0) and Nathan Ellis (0) were out in quick succession as PBKS 88/9 and in danger of failing to cross the 100-run mark.

However, skipper Shikhar Dhawan launched a brilliant onslaught and found a willing partner in Mohit Rathee as they added 55 runs from 31 balls for the last wicket partnership to take PBKS to a decent score. Rathee scored only one run in that partnership.

Shikhar blasted Umran Malik for 17 runs in the 18th over, blasting the young tearaway for two sixes and a four as he capitalised on the three lives offered to him by SRH — Bhuvneshwar spilt two catches off his own bowling while dropping one over the rope off Umran Malik.

But in the end, his effort went in vain as the score was too small to defend.

Brief scores:

Punjab Kings 143/9 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 99 not out, Sam Curran 22; Mayank Markande 4-15, Marco Jansen 2-16, Umran Malik 2-32) lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad 145/2 in 17.1 overs (Rahul Tripathi 74 not out, Aiden Markram 37 not out; Arshdeep Singh 1-20) by 8 wickets

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Punjab Kings beat Rajasthan Royals in nail-biting thriller

For Royals, captain Sanju Samson top scored with 42 off 25 while Shimron Hetmyer made a crucial 36 off 18 to take the game into the final over….reports Asian Lite News

A captain’s knock of an unbeaten 85 by Shikhar Dhawan along with Prabhsimran Singh’s 60 followed by a four-fer by Nathan Ellis helped Punjab Kings (PBKS) clinch a final-over thriller against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Match 8 of the IPL 2023 here at Barsapara Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

Dhawan’s unbeaten 85 along with Prabhsimran Singh’s maiden half-century helped PBKS set a 198-run target. In reply, after a slow start, Royals turned the momentum into their favour but fell short of 5 runs in front of Sam Curran’s brilliant display in the final over.

For Royals, captain Sanju Samson top scored with 42 off 25 while Shimron Hetmyer made a crucial 36 off 18 to take the game into the final over.

RR started the chase with a strange batting line-up as Ravichandran Ashwin came in to open with Yashasvi Jaiswal because Jos Buttler had gone off the field immediately after taking a catch in the last over of the Punjab Kings’ innings.

Chasing 198, the Royals got off to a dismal start as they were reduced to 26/2 within four overs. Then skipper Sanju Samson and Buttler took the Punjab bowlers to cleaners with their well-timed shots before Nathan Ellis caught and bowled the big fish Buttler for 19. The royals were reeling at 57/3 at the end of the powerplay.

Ellis struck again in the 11th over to pile further misery on the Royals as he trapped skipper Samson for 42, reducing RR to 91/4. Then, Riyan Parag infused life into the game with a six over mid-wicket off Rahul Chahar in the 12th over. He then pumped over the long-on for another one in the next over.

Ellis claimed his third scalp in the 15th over, dismissing Parag for 20 off 12. In the same over, he cleaned up Devdutt Padikkal on a length ball, picking up his fourth wicket and making the task tougher for the Royals.

Then, Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel went for hits to keep the Royals’ hopes alive, bringing the equation to 34 runs in 12 balls. In the penultimate over, Dhruv Jurel slammed a couple of fours and a six, bringing the equation to 16 in 6.

Sam Curran started the final over by giving a single and a double. On the third ball of the over, Hetmyer got run out, and 12 were needed off three balls to win. But Curran held his nerve and gave away just seven runs off the next three deliveries as PBKS wrapped up the win.

Earlier batting first, Prabhsimran and Dhawan gave PBKS a strong start as they posted 63 for no loss at the end of the Power-play.

Afterwards, RR bowlers kept PBKS’ run rate in check with just two big hits coming in the next four overs. In between, Prabhsimran completed his maiden IPL half-century off 28 deliveries with a single in the eighth over before falling to Holder in the tenth over for 60.

Halfway through, PBKS were 92 for 1. In the 11th over PBKS suffered a blow as Bhanuka Rajapaksa was taken off the field by the physios after getting hit in the forearm on his right hand by Dhawan’s shot.

Jitesh Sharma then came out to join Dhawan and the duo accelerated the run rate with their calculated batting and stitched a 66-run stand for the second wicket, which Chahal broke in the 16th over, dismissing Jitesh for 27.

On the very first ball of the 17th over, Ravichandran Ashwin cleaned up Sikander Raza for 1 as the Royals lost two wickets in no time. In the final over, Holder got his second in the form of Shahrukh Khan.

With 45 runs coming off the last three overs for the loss of two wickets, PBKS posted a total of 197 for four in 20 overs.

Brief scores: Punjab Kings 197/4 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 86 not out, Prabhsimran Singh 60; Jason Holder 2-29) beat Rajasthan Royals 192/7 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 42, Shimron Hetmyer 36; Nathan Ellis 4-30, Arshdeep Singh 2-47) by 5 runs

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Punjab Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 7 runs


Russell then hit a low full toss from Curran over mid-wicket for six and then ramped a short ball between backward point and short third man for four more. But Curran had the last laugh as Russell holed out to deep mid-wicket…reports Asian Lite News

 Bhanuka Rajapaksa timed the ball well to slam a delightful half-century, while Arshdeep Singh picked three wickets as Punjab Kings opened their IPL 2023 campaign with a seven-run win via DLS method against Kolkata Knight Riders at the I.S. Bindra PCA Stadium on Saturday.

On a flat pitch and fast outfield, Punjab were threatening to score upwards of 200, reaching 100 runs in the first ten overs. But Kolkata, whose bowlers majorly struggled, picked four wickets in the second half as Punjab could make only 91 runs to end up at a score nine short of 200.

All of Punjab’s batters got starts after being asked to bat first, but only Rajapaksa could reach his half-century, with the help of five fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 156.25.

In reply, after the floodlights failure caused a delay of 25 minutes in the chase, Arshdeep starred with short balls to leave Kolkata at 29/3 in five overs. Despite late blows from Andre Russell, they reached 146/7 in 16 overs, only for rain to make an appearance. Kolkata were seven runs behind the DLS par score as rain caused a premature end to the game, resulting in their loss.

Punjab made an early breakthrough in the second over with Arshdeep getting a bit of extra bounce and cramped Mandeep Singh for room, who miscued the pull to deep mid-wicket. He closed the over by cramping Anukul Roy for room, getting him to pull straight to midwicket.

Nathan Ellis struck in the fifth over by having an impressive Rahmanullah Gurbaz miss a back-of-the-length delivery and hit the top of the off-stump. Nitish Rana and Venkatesh Iyer, coming in as an Impact Player for Varun Chakravarthy, got on to the resurrection job by taking a four each off Sikandar Raza.

When Rishi Dhawan, coming in as Impact Player for Rajapaksa, bowled the ninth over, Rana and Iyer used his shorter deliveries to hit three boundaries. But Raza came back in the next over to have Rana slashing straight to the backward point. Leg-spinner Rahul Chahar struck on the first ball of the 11th over as Rinku Singh slog-swept straight to deep mid-wicket.

With half the side down, Russell tried to wage a fightback with a six and four off Chahar and Harpreet Brar respectively. An eventful 14th over from Ellis produced 18 runs, including Iyer hitting a six off a no-ball. Moreover, Russell was dropped by Prabhsimran Singh running back from short fine leg just after he hit a four through mid-off.

Russell then hit a low full toss from Curran over mid-wicket for six and then ramped a short ball between backward point and short third man for four more. But Curran had the last laugh as Russell holed out to deep mid-wicket.

In the next over, Arshdeep had his third wicket with the short ball as Iyer guided straight to backward point. Shardul Thakur and Sunil Narine hit a six each before rain stopped proceedings, bringing the game to an early end.

Earlier, Prabhsimran began spectacularly, smacking two fours and as many sixes. He looked in fine touch, especially when using his feet to hammer Tim Southee for four through mid-off and three balls later, smacked a six over wide long-on.

But Southee had him on the final ball of the second over, strangling Prabhsimran down leg. Shikhar Dhawan got going with vintage cuts on consecutive deliveries in the fourth over off Southee before Rajapaksa took over.

Rajapaksa fearlessly danced down the pitch to hit Sunil Narine sweetly through the line for fours through extra cover and long-off, followed by a six down the ground in a 14-run fifth over, also bringing up Punjab’s fifty.

Post the Power-play, Rajapaksa continued to be nimble-footed, swatting Shardul Thakur for four past the bowler and then hitting a pick-up six through the leg-side in the flamingo style. With the ball coming on nicely on the bat, Rajapaksa took boundaries with sweep and deft touch while Dhawan pulled and sliced with perfection as Punjab reached their 100 at the half-way mark.

After bringing up his half-century in 30 balls, Rajapaksa holed out to long-on two balls later off Umesh Yadav. Jitesh Sharma hit two huge sixes down the ground and over long-off in an 11-ball 12 before slicing to short third off Southee.

In the next over, Dhawan was castled while going across the line against a quicker googly from Chakravarthy. Raza, Curran and Shahrukh Khan hit boundaries in the far end for Punjab to go above 190.

Brief scores: Punjab Kings 191/5 in 20 overs (Bhanuka Rajapaksa 50, Shikhar Dhawan 40; Tim Southee 2-54, Varun Chakravarthy 1-26) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 146/7 in 16 overs (Andre Russell 35, Venkatesh Iyer 34; Arshdeep 3-19, Rahul Chahar 1-12) by seven runs (via DLS method)

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