SunRisers Hyderabad are rock bottom in the IPL 2021 points table, and will need something extraordinary in the remainder of the season to qualify for the playoffs. Having lost to Delhi Capitals in their first match of the UAE leg, they come up against Punjab Kings next, a team currently occupying seventh place in the table. SRH have won just one match this season and are on a four-game losing streak. Punjab Kings have fared a little better with three wins from nine games, giving them six points. However, their inability to close games down has cost them dearly.
In their previous game against Rajasthan Royals, PBKS were coasting to victory while chasing 186 runs.
A 120-run opening partnership between KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal had given PBKS the perfect platform to easily chase down the target.
Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran had all but assured Punjab the win with fine cameos but it all went wrong for PBKS in the final couple of overs.
At the end of 18 overs, PBKS were 178 for two, needing just 8 runs off the final 12 balls. They managed just four off the penultimate over to leave them needing four off the last over.
However, in a dramatic turn of events, Kartik Tyagi produced a sensational over, taking two wickets and giving away just one run as PBKS somehow lost the match by 2 runs.
While PBKS have many positives to take forward and are still in the mix to book a top-four spot, the same can’t be said of SRH.
SunRisers Hyderabad have just been woeful this season and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel for Kane Williamson’s team.
They would have hoped that the forced break and change of venues, would bring a change in fortunes. But nothing seems to have changed for SRH.
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It was another lacklustre performance with both the bat and ball against Delhi Capitals, who coasted to a win to go top of the table.
While T Natarajan being struck down by Covid has certainly not helped the bowling department, SRH really need their batters to step up.
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