IPL: SRH ride on another Abhishek blitz to keep hopes of top-two finish alive

Prabhsimran Singh and Atharva Taide put on 97 for the first wicket off 55 balls, Rilee Rossouw hit 49 at a strike rate above 200, and Jitesh Sharma provided the closing fireworks, with 32 not out off 15. They set Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) 215 to win.

And still it wasn’t enough for Punjab Kings (PBKS). Not nearly enough to halt the batting juggernaut that SRH have been in IPL 2024.

They lost their best batter Travis Head first ball, but raced through the powerplay thanks to Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi, who hit 66 off 28 and 33 off 18 respectively, propelling the team to 84 for 2 at the end of their first six overs.

From then, the scoring didn’t really slow until the target was within sight. Heinrich Klaasen led SRH to the brink of victory with 42 off 26. The winning runs were hit with five balls to spare.

Dare we say something about the bowlers? Only SRH’s T Natarajan escaped with decent figures, taking 2 for 33.

SRH now move into second on the points table. Whether they stay there and play the Qualifier 1, rather than the Eliminator, depends on whether Rajasthan Royals win in the second game of the day, against table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders. (ESPNcricinfo)