IPL 2024: Pat Cummins ecstatic with their thrilling win against PBKS
Xtra Time Web Desk: It was sea of ecstasy for Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper captain Pat Cummins was as his team secured a thrilling two-run victory over Punjab Kings in a nailbiter in IPL 2024 match on April 9. The match played at Mohali, was a close contest that went down to the wire. Cummins praised young batsman Nitish Reddy for his match winning knock. Reddy showcased a brilliant batting prowess with an innings of 64 runs from just 37 balls, helping Hyderabad recover from a tricky position of 66/4 after 10 overs and post a competitive total of 182/9.
In response, Punjab put up a bold chase with significant contributions from Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma. The duo, who had contributed in their team's previous victory, stitched together a crucial 66-run partnership. They almost snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, needing just 29 runs from the last over bowled by Jaydev Unadkat. However, Hyderabad managed to hold their nerve and secure a narrow win despite dropping three catches in the last over, two of which went for maximums.
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"It was a great game of cricket. they bowled really well at the start, we did well to get to 182 and then defended it. The beauty of the impact player is that you feel you have really deep batting. We try to be positive, to take the game on. If you get 150-160, you are going to lose nine out of ten games anyway. We knew the new ball was going to be a key time. We were pretty happy (with our score). The conditions really," Cummins said in the post-match presentation.
"Saw what happened with the new ball for them, so thought if me and Bhuvi could start off with a wicket of wickets (it would be good). We have plenty of left-armers, right-armers, so just trying to give the bowlers the best chance of success. He was awesome, fantastic debut last week. Straight to the top for the order, fantastic in the field, bowled three overs too. To get us to 180 basically off his own bat was unreal," he concluded.
Hyderabad's batting innings was a stammering affair. They managed to reach a decent total thanks to a few contributions scattered throughout the innings. The highlight, however, was youngster Nitish Kumar Reddy's brilliant fifty. Arshdeep Singh was the leader on Punjab’s bowlers’ pack, taking an impressive four wickets. His brilliance was supported by Sam Curran and Harshal Patel, who picked up two wickets each, while Kagiso Rabada got one.
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Punjab's chase started poorly, losing wickets in the crucial Powerplay overs. Despite a courageous fightback towards the end, they fell agonizingly short of the target, suffering a heartbreaking defeat. SRH will next face Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 15.
