Sunrisers Hyderabad desperately needed a victory over Punjab Kings, so they made three changes to their starting lineup. The decision paid off handsomely as the hosts revived their season with a commanding eight-wicket victory on Sunday night at the RGIC Stadium.
Anmolpreet Singh, Adil Rashid, and Abdul Samad were replaced by Heinrich Klaasen, left-arm seamer Marco Jansen, and leggie Mayank Markande for Sunrisers. This decision paid off as Punjab were held to a manageable score of 143 for nine. For about 15 overs of the innings, Lanky Jansen (2/16), Markande (4/15), and Umran Malik (2/32) had Punjab on the ropes before Punjab captain Shikhar Dhawan stole the show with an outstanding unbeaten 99.
A comfortable victory at the end for @SunRisers with a dependable knock of 74* off 48 balls from @tripathirahul52 👏 👏
He becomes our 🔝 performer from the second innings of the #SRHvPBKS clash in the #TATAIPL
A look at his batting summary 🔽 pic.twitter.com/4NlzazC2Mz
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 9, 2023
Even though the Sunrisers lost their openers with 45 on the board, the target proved to be manageable for them. Despite batting with Mayank Agarwal to start the innings, Harry Brook (13), who was caught by Arshdeep Singh, failed to make it count.
Mayank received a reprieve when he reached 14 when wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma missed a chance off Nathan Ellis, but the reprieve wasn’t sustained. The hosts were 45 when Mayank (21) was defeated by Rahul Chahar on the leg.
With a balance of caution and intensity, Aiden Markram, the captain, and Rahul Tripathi made sure there were no more mishaps. In particular, Tripathi unleashed his strikes on the spinners from Punjab. Tripathi used his arsenal of strokes to hit the ball to every section of the fence, confusing the helpless Punjab bowlers in the process.
As Sunrisers responded with 145 for two in 17.1 overs, Tripathi remained undefeated on 74 off 48 balls with 10 fours and three sixes. In the unbroken 100-run stand for the third wicket, Markram (37; 21b, 6×4) provided a capable counterbalance to his partner.
