TATA IPL 2024: Abhishek, Klaasen Star in SRH's Four-Wicket Win Over Punjab

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) clinched a comfortable four-wicket victory over Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, buoyed by Abhishek Sharma's dazzling half-century as the opener. With this win, SRH concluded their league stage campaign with 17 points from 14 matches, securing the second spot in the points table. However, the final rankings will be determined after the conclusion of the second match between table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals.

In pursuit of 215 runs on their home turf, Hyderabad faced an early setback as opener Travis Head (0) departed on the very first delivery of the innings, courtesy of Arshdeep Singh's bowling during the power-play. This prompted Rahul Tripathi to step in at No. 3 and partner with Abhishek in the middle. The pair maintained a brisk scoring pace, consistently finding the boundary ropes. SRH swiftly surpassed the 50-run milestone and continued to cruise along until Harshal Patel provided PBKS with a momentary reprieve by dismissing Tripathi in the fifth over.

Meanwhile, Abhishek slammed his third fifty of the season off 21 balls. He scored 66 runs in 28 balls including six sixes and five fours before losing his wicket to Shashank Singh in the 11th over. During his knock, he also created history by becoming the first Indian batter to smash 39 sixes in an IPL season.

Nitish and Heinrich Klaasen continued the onslaught as SRH controlled the pace of the match throughout their innings. Reddy played a 37-run knock while Klaasen scored 42 off 26 runs to keep them ahead in the chase. Despite losing Shabaz Ahmed (3) and Klaasen (42) in the death overs, the win was a cakewalk for the home franchise.

Earlier, Prabhsimran Singh's half-century coupled with Rilee Rossouw's 49 powered Punjab Kings to 214/5. Playing his second game of the season, the left-handed opener Atharva Taide along with partner Prabhsimran gave PBKS a blazing start. The duo set the foundation for Punjab's total by unleashing carnage in the power-play. The openers scored at the rate of over 10 runs per over to make the most of the field restriction.

Rilee Rossouw joined Prabhsimran in the middle and carried the momentum forward in the middle overs. Meanwhile, the latter also completed his second half-century of the season. The batters steered Punjab to the 150-run mark and stitched a 54-run partnership for the second wicket before Prabhsimran departed after scoring a 45-ball 71 studded with seven fours and four sixes.

During the proceedings, SRH skipper Pat Cummins deceived Rossouw with a slow full-toss in the 18th over, removing a well-set batsman and leaving Punjab without a solid contributor for the concluding overs. Rossouw, the South African batsman, amassed 49 runs off 24 deliveries, comprising four sixes and three fours. Ashutosh Sharma's brief innings of 2 runs ended abruptly as he fell victim to Natrajan's bowling while trying to accelerate the scoring rate.

Ultimately, the cameo from stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma, who remained unbeaten on 26 runs off 14 balls, featuring two sixes and an equal number of fours, propelled them to reach the 200-run milestone in the last over of the innings. Natrajan secured two wickets for Hyderabad, while Cummins and Viyaskanth each took one scalp.