The Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated the Kings XI Punjab by five runs to end their two-match losing streak.
The defending champions survived an almighty scare as young Indian opener Manan Vohra blasted 95 off just 49 deliveries to give Kings XI a chance, but he was trapped lbw in the penultimate over to end what would have been one of the most heroic knocks in IPL history.
To put Vohra’s knock into perspective, the next-best score was 13 from Eoin Morgan. Hashim Amla’s place in the side will now be under threat after he departed lbw for a golden duck, before counterpart David Miller fell for one.
The tailenders kept things interesting as six runs were required off the last three balls, but Siddarth Kaul, albeit after a couple of wides, held his nerve to bowl Ishant Sharma with two balls remaining.
The Kings XI Punjab have now lost three in a row after winning their first two, while it breathes fresh air into the defence of the Sunrisers’ crown, sealing their third win in five matches.
The Sunrisers, after losing the toss, struggled to get going in their innings. After 10 overs they were battling on 54-3 and it was in the tenth over that saw Axar Patel (2-33) remove Moises Henriques (9) and Yuvraj Singh (0) in consecutive deliveries. But crucially their skipper David Warner was still there.
He took a while to piece his innings together but the pace at which he did it was necessary. He took 46 balls to reach his fifty, before carrying his bat to finish on 70 off 54, as his side posted 159-6, with 35 runs scored off the last three overs.
Kings XI were never really in it. Amla’s wicket set the tone as Purple Cap holder Bhuvneshwar Kumar (5-19) was in excellent form to see off skipper Glenn Maxwell for 10 in his next over.
Kumar was on hand to ensure that a dramatic victory couldn’t be achieved from the Punjab side, taking two wickets from the penultimate over, including that of Vohra. Vohra smacked five sixes and nine fours for his career-best 95, but he simply didn’t have anyone to back him up.
Kings XI Punjab vs Sunrisers Hyderabad scorecard
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Daredevils scorecard
Photo: Faheem Hossain/Cricinfo/IPL
