Jaydev Unadkat took the ball from Pat Cummins to bowl SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) final over versus Punjab Kings (PBKS) in IPL 2024. Cummins likely expected victory. However, SRH barely survived, winning by just two runs.
On Tuesday, April 9, SRH defeated PBKS in an exciting match at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Chandigarh. Punjab sent Hyderabad into bat, and they scored 182-8. In response, PBKS scored 154-6 after 19 overs.
They needed 29 from Unadkat’s last over but only got 26 in a frantic finale that gave Cummins and Co. a serious worry.
Ashutosh Sharma (33* off 15) blasted the opening ball of the 20th over to deep mid wicket. Nitish Kumar Reddy may have made the catch. Instead, he palmed the ball over the wall for a maximum.
Here’s a video of the last over:
The following two pitches were wides. With 21 off five, Ashutosh blasted one to long-off. This time, Abdul Samad mistimed the catch and parried the ball over the ropes, resulting in the over’s second six. The following two deliveries yielded two runs apiece, before Unadkat bowled another wide.
With 10 runs needed from two deliveries, Rahul Tripathi missed a sitter from Ashutosh at deep midwicket. However, just one run was scored off the delivery, implying that Punjab Kings needed nine to win off the last ball. Shashank Singh (46* off 25) lofted the slot ball over long-off for a maximum, but SRH held on to win by two runs.
Earlier, chasing a goal of 183, the Punjab Kings got off to a bad start, losing half their team for 91. Cummins dismissed Jonny Bairstow for a duck, while skipper Shikhar Dhawan (14) and Prabhsimran Singh (4) both went cheaply.
Sam Curran (29 off 22) and Sikandar Raza (28 off 22) made cameo appearances, but it wasn’t until Shashank and Ashutosh joined forces that SRH became concerned.
Nitish Reddy’s brilliant knock lifts SRH after early loss of wickets
SunRisers Hyderabad batted first after Punjab Kings opted to field. They faltered early, losing four wickets for just 64 runs. Travis Head scored 21 off 15 balls, while Abhishek Sharma managed 16 off 11. However, Aiden Markram was dismissed for a duck, and Rahul Tripathi could only muster 11 off 14 deliveries. To compound Hyderabad’s woes, Heinrich Klaasen too departed cheaply, scoring 9 runs.
Nitish Kumar Reddy (64 off 37) blasted four fours and five sixes in his blistering half-century, while Samad scored 25 off 12. Their efforts pushed SRH above 180, which proved to be just enough in the end.
