One thing can be said about the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) team that they have the best bowlers in IPL. This time, with a paltry target of 132, they have managed to bundle out Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at 119 runs with 4 balls to spare. When Chris Gayle and KL Rahul came to bat for KXIP, it looked like the Punjab outfit can outclass the opponents without any delay. However, things took a turn for worse when KXIP lost KL Rahul's wicket. The SRH bowlers rallied around Afghan leggie Rashid Khan and since then, the scales of the match tilted towards the Hyderabadi outfit. Credit goes to Sandeep Sharma, Basil Thampi and Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib-Al Hasan for bowling economically in a slightly two-paced wicket. Certainly, SRH has become a master of low scoring matches.
SRH flopped with the bat as the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson became victims of some perfect bowling from Ankit Rajpoot who became the first uncapped bowler in IPL history to take 5 wickets. Manish Pandey steadied the innings in the middle with Shakib but they were never able to up the tempo. Even Yusuf Pathan had a pretty subdued stint in the crease. Only a couple of 6's were scored in the SRH innings, which highlights the quality of the KXIP bowling. Nevertheless, with this win, Sunrisers is sitting in 2nd position and will look to continue their fine form with the ball in the upcoming matches. The Punjab outfit, on the other hand, needs to focus on closing down matches with a professional approach. The middle order is simply not performing for them and they may need to take tough steps against some senior cricketers who are underperforming consistently.
