SRH vs PBKS | Explosive Sunrisers breeze through 215-run chase to prime themselves for second-placed finish

Punjab Kings' opening pair of Atharva Taide and Prabhsimran Singh, their fifth of the season, powered through a cautious start on a dry deck to race away to 61/0 at the end of the powerplay. Both seemed on course for rapid half-centuries but the former was stranded four short of the mark when he slashed a T Natarajan delivery straight to backward point to end a 97-run stand in the 10th over. Nevertheless, Prabhsimran brought up a 34-ball fifty soon after and upped the tempo thereon, combining with Rilee Roussow for a blistering partnership of 54 off just 31 deliveries. However, four relatively quick wickets, including a freakish caught-behind dismissal for Prabhsimran and a tragic case of ball-watching for Shashank Singh, disrupted the visitors' momentum albeit a few meaty blows by Roussow meant they were still well-placed at 187/5 with two overs to go. Stand-in skipper Jitesh Sharma ensured he lived up to the responsibility with a 15-ball blitz of 32 and struck two sixes to finish the Punjab innings at 214/5.

In response, Hyderabad was immediately stunned into silence courtesy of an Arshdeep Singh peach that dispatched impact sub-Travis Head for a golden duck. Nevertheless, Rahul Tripathi and Abhishek Sharma bounced back in style from the early setback with a lightning 72-run stand off just 29 deliveries before the former departed for an 18-ball 33. There was no stopping Abhishek though as the young opener brought up a 21-ball half-century and had placed his team in pole position for victory when he departed at the midway stage. With the spinners in operation, Heinrich Klaasen's arrival at the crease was followed by inevitable carnage and with Nitish Kumar Reddy joining the party, the equation ultimately read a measly 39 off the final six overs. A couple of late blows followed but they did little to change momentum as SRH breezed home with four wickets and five balls to spare.

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— Bill Jax (@jax_bill74377) June 7, 2024

Abhi-Sher 🦁🔥



ఆ కొట్టుడు ఏంది రా అయ్యా 🫡🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵#SRHvsPBKS



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— 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝘃𝘂𝗱𝘂 (@Shiva4TDP) May 19, 2024

What a win for him!

అగ్గంటుకుంది సంద్రం 

భగ్గున మండె ఆకసం…#SRHvsPBKS pic.twitter.com/TNHHZKZddC

— SP (@Just__SP) May 19, 2024

Good victory for them!

That's SRH for you to some clowns 🤡#srhvspbks #Sunrisershyderabad

— W@nderlu$t💚 (@Wanderlust_45) May 19, 2024

Good win for SRH!

Abhishek, you beauty <3 🤌🏻🧡#Homies #SRHvsPBKS

— Unnati✨ (#SRH🧡) (@aai_shapathh) May 19, 2024