Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) hammered Punjab Kings (PBKS) by nine wickets in the 14th match of IPL 2021 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Batting first after winning the toss, PBKS managed to post only 120 on the board. In response, SRH eased home with no pressure of the run rate. With the victory on Wednesday, SRH registered their first win after three losses in the tournament. We analyze three reasons by PBKS went down to SRH in Chennai.
- No PBKS player converting his start
PBKS put up a highly shoddy batting effort on Wednesday against SRH. To put it in a nutshell, the batting unit as a whole failed. Five batsmen crossed double figures but not a single one of them went on to register a substantial score. Mayank Agarwal and Shahrukh Khan were the joint top-scorers for PBKS. But the duo only managed 22 each.
Among the others, Chris Gayle perished for 15, Deepak Hooda for 13 and Moises Henriques for 14. PBKS just kept losing wicket after wicket and could not get any momentum into the innings. In the end, it was not surprising that PBKS managed only 120. They did not even bat out their 20 overs, getting bowled out with a couple of balls left. Once they were rolled over for 120, there was a very slim chance of PBKS winning the game.
- PBKS batsmen were just not mentally present
Although PBKS were physically present at the crease, mentally they were just not there. And this aspect reflected in the dismissals of most of their batsmen. It all started with their captain KL Rahul, who played a nothing shot to be dismissed for 4. Agarwal too got no timing into his stroke and perished in disappointing fashion.
But it was the wicket of Nicholas Pooran that typified PBKS’ woes. Chris Gayle tapped one near David Warner and set off for a single. Pooran responded to the call but showed little enthusiasm and, in a pedestrian manner, tried to cross over. Warner hit bullseye and Pooran was caught well short. If never looked as if he was interested in the single. The left-handed batsman walked back without having faced a ball. That’s not all. His duck on Wednesday was his third in four matches. Gayle, Hooda and Moises Henriques also looked ungainly as they lost their wickets. It was that kind of a day for PBKS.
- Allowing SRH openers to race away in the chase
Although PBKS had only posted 120 on the board, they could have competed if they had put up a spirited show with the ball. Instead, David Warner and Jonny Bairstow raced away to 50 at the end of the powerplay overs, scoring at a swift pace. With the early momentum, they eased home in the chase. Although Warner again fell in the 30s, Bairstow was there to see the team home. He remained unbeaten on 63 from 56 balls and walked away with the man of the match award.
Murugan Ashwin, Deepak Hooda and Fabian Allen all kept the runs down, conceding only 22 each in their four overs. However, among the three, the bowlers managed only one wicket. What PBKS needed were a few quick wickets to set the cat among the pigeons in the SRH came. But, like the batsmen, the bowlers also looked flat throughout. In the end, it was all one-way traffic as PBKS were thumped with disdain. It was the kind of performance KL Rahul and his men would like to forget in a jiffy.