The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) bowling unit proved very strong and on song once again. The hosts successfully defended a below-par score for the second time in a row. All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan got a lifeline while batting but from there on, he didn’t put a step wrong.
On a night when every batter struggled to put bat to ball, Shakib supported Manish Pandey well to take the team total to 132 for six in 20 overs against visiting side Kings XI Punjab.
The right-handed batsman Pandey hit a solitary six and three fours to score 54 off 51 balls. He anchored the innings while Shakib’s 29 off 28 balls gave them a decent platform and allowed the bowlers to have a crack at the Punjab batters.
Ankit Rajpoot was the most successful bowler for Ravichandran Ashwin-led team. He scalped five wickets and conceded just 14 runs in his 4 overs.
Chasing a humble total, Chris Gayle and KL Rahul started off in a good fashion. The duo put up 55 runs for the first wicket. Gayle made 23 off 22 balls and Rahul contributed with 32 off 26 deliveries.
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Shakib turns on his magic –
At 57 for two, the Punjab dug-out was still hopeful of a comfortable win but the Sunrisers’ bowlers didn’t let them breathe easy.
Shakib got the wicket of Mayank Agarwal and then went on to dismiss the dangerous Aaron Finch. HIs partner in crime, Rashid Khan picked the wicket of Karun Nair and ended his spell with figures of three for 19.
Shakib who did a good job with the bat, bowled three overs for 18 runs and sealed the two wickets through his nagging line and length.
While representing Hyderabad, the all-rounder in the form of Shakib Al Hasan also completed 50 wickets of his Indian Premier League (IPL) career.
Unlike Punjab, the Orange Army held on to most of the catches and crossed the line in fashion.
“The guys did a very good job in the fielding department as well and hopefully we can keep this up. We need few more runs, but the wicket we have seen in the last two games was totally different and that score was the best score here” said Rashid.
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