Mullanpur, April 10
Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar jokingly stated that the beauty of the T20 game is that it is not for the bowlers.
Sunrisers Hyderabad stood victorious with a narrow 2-run win in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
In the final over of the chase, PBKS needed 29 runs to get across the finishing line. Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma almost pulled off the heist as they combined to score 26 runs falling marginally short of the target.
Even during the final over of SRH's innings, Jaydev Unadkat struck a six on the final ball which could be deemed as the difference between the two teams.
"That is the beauty of the T20 game for the spectators, not for the bowlers (smiles). The wicket changed a lot in the last few overs, we scored runs and they scored runs as well. Good to get a win," Bhuvneshwar said after the game.
Bhuvneshwar spearheaded the pace attack and bagged two crucial wickets - skipper Shikhar Dhawan and impact substitute Prabhsimran Singh. In his four-over spell, he bowled 13 dot balls, and conceded 32 runs at an economy of 8.00.
He went on to open up about the approach that he uses against the batters and said, "Everyone knows what you are going to do, but it is about doing the same thing over and over, and keeping it simple. You need a bit of luck as well."
Ashutosh came in when PBKS needed 67 runs in 24 balls with just four wickets in hand. With Shashank, he took on the SRH bowling set-up and struck some delightful shots.
In the final over, he struck back-to-back sixes to even the odds and bring the equation down to 15 runs in four deliveries. However, his resolve wasn't enough to take PBKS across the finishing line.
"He (Ashutosh) batted really well. when someone is batting and you think that they can still win the game, that is really appreciable, and good for India as well," Bhuvneshwar concluded.
Coming to the match, after losing three wickets in the powerplay, SRH posted a total in excess of 180 thanks to Nitish Reddy's maiden half-century and some crucial runs scored by Abdul Samad and Shahbaz Ahmed.
In the run-chase of 183, PBKS lost wickets frequently and were reduced to 114/6 in 15.3 overs. A remarkable fightback from Shashank Singh (46* in 25 balls, with six fours and a six) and Ashutosh Sharma (33* in 15 balls, with three fours and two sixes) almost sealed a win for Punjab, but they fell short by two runs.