IPL 10, Match 19 SRH vs KXIP Review: Bhuvi bags 5 wicket haul as SRH overhaul Punjab in a nail biting thriller

Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) came back to winning ways by defeating Kings XI Punjab by 5 runs in a nail-biting thriller at Hyderabad to get their campaign back on the trot. Manan Vohra’s heroic 95 went in vain as death overs specialist Bhuvneshwar Kumar delivered some exceptional toe crushing Yorkers which prevented Punjab from chasing the total down.

It was a beautiful piece of swing bowling upfront and then it was matched up by exceptional consistency. Earlier in the day Sunrisers captain David Warner top-scored for the home team with a 70 of 54 deliveries but it wasn’t the prettiest of his innings. He was beaten several times and struggled his way in the initial stage but later gained in confidence as the innings progressed.

The toss was won by Kings XI Punjab captain Glenn Maxwell and he put the hosts in. Sandeep Sharma began with an impressive over first up conceding a mere 3 runs. Dhawan struck the first boundary of the innings in the 3rd over of Sandeep Sharma but apart from that, it was a sedate start from the hosts.

The Punjab pacers Ishant Sharma and Sandeep Sharma looked in good rhythm and bowled some terrific overs up front which resulted in the wicket of Shikhar Dhawan in the final delivery of the 5th over. The hosts struggled to 29/1 at the end of the powerplay and were unable to hit the big shots. Warner smashed KC Cariappa for a reverse ramp for a six over the 3rd man boundary.

Left-arm tweaker Axar Patel provided the visitors with two crucial breaks in consecutive deliveries to peg the hosts back. While Henriques was stumped by Saha, Yuvraj was caught brilliantly by the Bengal lad. Naman Ojha came out in the middle and looked in good touch from the outset. He executed some delightful shots to perfection and looked in complete command of proceedings.

Warner, on the other hand, was struggling but wasn’t ready to surrender his wicket. He slowly started gaining in confidence and found the middle of the bat. Ojha struck 2 fours and a solitary six during his 34 of 20 deliveries before falling to Cariappa in the 16th over Warner reached his fifty in the 17th over but it wasn’t anywhere close to being one of his best.

Warner and Rashid Khan struck a six each in the final over of the innings to propel Hyderabad to 159 in their allotted 20 overs. Chasing a moderate target, Punjab began in the worst of fashions losing opener Hashim Amla in the very first delivery. It was a beautifully directed outswinger which struck him plumb in front.

After a couple of boundaries in the next over of Barinder Sran, Bhuvi added another to his kitty with the wicket of Kings XI captain Maxwell. It was a wild slog and he mistimed it totally. The ball went straight up in the air and was pouched by Warner at long off. Eoin Morgan came out in the middle to accompany Vohra who was looking in goo touch. The southpaw welcomed Mohammad Nabi to IPL cricket with a big six over the mid-on boundary.

In the next over another Afghani spinner was greeted to the crease with some exceptional strokeplay by Vohra. He played some gorgeous shots and struck 2 sixes and a four during the over. The shot over the extra cover boundary was arguably the shot of the day. The duo looked in good touch but tragedy struck when offie Nabi breached his defence with a quicker delivery which went on with the arm.

It was yet again the teenage sensation Rashid Khan who created magic in his next over after conceding 16 in his opening over. The leggie bowled an exceptional delivery which castled David Miller and it was a sensational sight for the youngster. It skidded through the pitch and the southpaw was beaten for pace.

He followed it up with another wicket by dismissing Wriddhiman Saha with a wrong un. Saha picked it and played for the turn but the ball went straight and he was beaten on the outside. Vohra kept the visitors in the chase with some fours here and there but the real biggies were yet to be unleashed. Meanwhile, Axar Patel was foxed by a slower delivery from Moises Henriques which resulted in his downfall in the 14th over.

Vohra began the onslaught in the 15th over smashing Barinder Sran for a couple of sixes and four to bring the calculation down to 56 required off the last 5. It was clean hitting by the youngster who looked to take the game away from the hosts. Rashid Khan was smashed all around the park for yet another time in the match and again it was Manan Vohra.

The right-hander struck a couple of fours and couple of sixes which tilted the scale in favour of the visitors. Meanwhile, Mohit Sharma was dismissed in the 17th over by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Vohra again smashed Siddharth Kaul for a six over the long-on region. It was in Punjab’s grasp but the final tale was yet to unfold.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled a sensational penultimate over and bagged two crucial wickets to reduce them to 149/9 at the end of the 19th over. It was high-class bowling by Bhuvi as even the set Vohra batting on 95 was unable to get him away. He bowled a toe crushing low full toss which struck him plumb in front and there was no hesitation in the umpire’s mind and he ruled it in favour of the home team.

11 was required of the final over but with two tail-enders out there in the middle it was for SRH to lose the game. Siddharth Kaul was entrusted with the final over and he looked nervy in the first few deliveries conceding a couple of wides. But he kept his calm and delivered the killer punch by executing a Yorker to perfection which castled Ishant Sharma’s stumps. It was a dramatic victory which will definitely give them confidence progressing into the tournament.

Brief Scores

Sunrisers Hyderabad 159/6 in 20 overs (David Warner 70, Naman Ojha 34, Mohit Sharma 2/25, Axar Patel 2/33)

Kings XI Punjab 154 all-out in 19.4 overs (Manan Vohra 95, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 5/19, Rashid Khan 2/42)

Sunrisers Hyderabad won by 5 runs

Check out – Full scorecard here

Check out- Points table here