IPL 2021, SRH vs PBKS: Punjab pulls off a final ball thriller to beat Hyderabad by 5 runs

It was a final ball thriller, as Punjab Kings edged past Sunrisers Hyderabad by five runs in IPL 2021 clash in Sharjah. As a result, PBKS has risen to the fifth spot in the table.

Punjab Kings came up with a nail-biting performance to creep past former champion Sunrisers Hyderabad in Match 37 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday. Ravi Bishnoi's spin played a significant role in the game, as PBKS pulled off a five-run win.

Winning the toss, SRH skipper Kane Williamson elected to field, as he moved in with an unchanged squad, despite the defeat in the previous game. As for PBKS, skipper KL Rahul made three changes, bringing in Nathan Ellis, Chris Gayle and Ravi Bishnoi.

PBKS was off to a jumpy start, losing its openers Rahul (21) and Mayank Agarwal (5) within the powerplay to pacer Jason Holder at 27. In came Gayle, but just 30 runs later, he was trapped leg-before by spinner Rashid Khan for 14 in the 11th over.

Nine runs later, at 66, Nicholas Pooran (8) walked his way back to pacer Sandeep Sharma in the following over, as PBKS lacked regular partnerships thereon. It was 22 runs later when Aiden Markram (27) perished to spinner Abdul Samad in the 15, followed by Deepak Hooda (13) to Holder in the following over, at 96.

In the final over, the last man to depart was Ellis (12) to seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, as PBKS could manage a paltry total of 125/7. The pitch seemed to have gotten slow, while the shorter boundaries did not do any good.

SRH put six bowlers into effect, with Holder being the most successful, with three scalps. However, Rashid, as usual, nailed it with his economy.

As SRH came out for the chase, it was off to a panicky start as well, losing a couple of wickets (David Warner- 2 & Williamson- 1) within the PP, at the score of 10. With the pitch slowing down, the batsmen struggled to connect the ball, as 22 runs later, Manish Pandey (13) to spinner Ravi Bishnoi in the eighth.

Bishnoi struck again after a few over, as at 56, he got rid of Kedar Jadhav (12) and Abdul Samad (1), four runs later, in the 13th over. Although a 32-run stand ensued between opener Wriddhiman Saha (31) and Holder (47*), the former was run out in the 17th.

Jason Holder

However, Holder continued his onslaught, despite Rashid Khan (3) falling in 19th. With ten needed off the final six deliveries and seven off the last ball, pacer Ellis held his nerves to bowl it out perfectly under pressure and secure a five-run win.

PBKS utilised five bowlers, with Bishnoi gaining the most success. However, seamer Shami nailed it with his economy.
Brief scores: PBKS 125/5 (Markram- 27; Holder- 3/19) defeats SRH 120/7 (Saha- 31, Holder- 47*; Bishnoi- 3/24) by five runs.