Highlights, IPL 2018, SRH vs KXIP at Hyderabad, Full Cricket Score: Bowlers power Sunrisers to 13-run victory over Punjab

Ankit Rajpoot:I don’t think so it is easy. Everyone practices and everyone is hardworking. The wicket was assisting and had planned it well, I was bowling it full and bowled at pace. It was my day so I got five wickets.

Kane Williamson, SRH captain: Today 145 would have been competitive total but Punjab bowled well and restricted us but boys played hard today. It’s nice to defend these totals. We want to continue that. We wanted to be really smart with the bat. It is about getting the right total. There is a small margin for us as a batting unit. The bowlers have been operating very nicely. We were very fortunate with our bowling depth. With injuries, guys have been coming in and bowling well. You always want more on the board but guys have been fantastic. Lot of credit goes to the way guys bowled. Yes, it was a difficult surface.

Ankit Rajpoot is the Man of the Match

Brilliant stuff from Rashid who looked at his lethal best tonight. We will let the numbers to the rest of the talking. 

Will he be the Man of the Match again!

Rashid Khan in IPL:

Total wickets: 24
Bowled & LBW: 17

Awesome accuracy!

— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) April 26, 2018

Stunning fightback by Sunrisers Hyderabad! Their bowlers turn heroes for one more night!

Kudos @SunRisers. Thought defending two low scores consecutively may be too much, especially with Bhuvi absent. What a terrific performance!

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 26, 2018

Mohammad Nabi has played five matches for SRH and SRH have won all those matches.

Remember: No Warner. No Bhuvi. No Stanlake. Still they pull this off. Sign Rashid Khan and Kane Williamson for the redux of Prison Break please. The story of the night has to be Rashid Khan’s come back, after being hammered by Gayle the last time these two teams met. It was also good captaincy, with Williamson using other bowlers against Gayle.  Also, that scratchy innings by Mansih Pandey proving really valuable now.

Ravichandran Ashwin, KXIP captain: We should have really won this game. Not the greatest of wicket, was a bit tough. It can happen in this format. These sort of games usually happen in IPL. We let ourselves  down in the field. It is always difficult to catch under the lights. There are no excuses , we have to put it behind and come back harder. Looking at the loss, this break is a good thing. Rashid bowled very well,. he is a world class bowler.

Bowled and over… Punjab have collapsed from 55/0 to 119 all out… Hyderabad have done it again, defending a lowly total two games running. Even the Mumbai Indians’ batting was not as bad as this. They were bowled out. This was throwing away wickets… absolute gifts. Blast from the past… Punjab showing why they have never won the IPL.

Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Kings XI Punjab by 13 runs

Mujeeb runs a leg bye off the first ball but Rajpoot trying to win the match with the bat after a fabulous effort with the ball, tried to play the scoop, exposing his stumps, with the ball bowled straight and full and Thampi hits the middle stump. Dead. Gone! SRH win!

Kings XI Punjab bowled out for 119 in just 19.4 overs 

Mujeeb Ur Rahman remains unbeaten 10 

Sunrisers Hyderabad has done it twice in three days! First they beat MI by 31 runs defending 118, now defended 132 runs winning by 13 runs! Despite a wonderful start by Chris Gayle and KL Rahul the Kings XI panicked and choked against some accurate SRH bowling.

Basil Thampi will bowl the last over! 15 runs to defend, six balls while just 1 wicket in hand for Punjab

After 19 overs,Kings XI Punjab 118/9 ( Ankit Rajpoot 8 , Mujeeb Ur Rahman 10)

Sid Kaul was unfortunate in the end, missed the stumps by a whisker. Rajpoot swung across off the last ball missing it completely. Four singles and a boundary gives them 8 and leaves them with 15 off the last over with 1 wicket in hand.

Everybody in the middle and lower order wanted to hit sixes… nobody wanted to stay at the crease and play the situation… now 17 yr old Mujeeb mixing singles with the odd lucky shot… 17!! Mayank, Finch, Tiwary should learn a bit… one of the worst batting displays in recent memory this, irrespective of the result which looks increasingly in Hyderabad’s favour…

FOUR! That helps! Inside edge from Mujeeb and the ball runs down to fine leg fence, the fielder’s chase ends in vain.

After 18 overs,Kings XI Punjab 110/9 ( Ankit Rajpoot 3 , Mujeeb Ur Rahman 8)

Super stuff this from Rashid for the first four deliveries he keeps it tight. Just two runs of the first four balls, but the overs cost 10 runs with Mujeeb’s two successive boundaries. 22 off 12 needed.

FOUR! Afghan v Afghan. Another reserve sweep this time over short third for another boundary. This was more of reverse-scoop. Back-to-back fours keeps Punjab’s hopes alive

FOUR! Well, hello! Mujeeb unfurls the reverse and plays it really well, beats the diving Sandeep Sharma at deep point to the boundary. Rashid affords a smile.

OUT! There goes the last KXIP hope! R Ashwin falls to Rashid Khan, had to go for the big hit, didn’t catch it right from the middle, but Kane Williamson with the reverse cup is safe as house.

Ashwin c Williamson b Rashid Khan 4(6)

Have so many catches been dropped at one venue? KXIP dropped too many catches and those runs are costing them. SRH don’t have a clean sheet, but they are taking more than they are grassing. Home team advantage isn’t just about the pitch and the outfield, it’s also about catching under the unique lights at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.

After 17 overs,Kings XI Punjab 100/8 ( Ravichandran Ashwin (C) 4 , Ankit Rajpoot 1)

Three runs and a run out off the over.  Nabi dropped Rajpoot off the last ball as he looked for a big shot across the line. The ball was high in the air, but Nabi didn’t quiet gather it.

Run out and a dropped catch… utter madness… not even sure anymore who wants to lose this game, let alone win it. Going by their innings so far, Punjab surely don’t want to win it. No composure in the middle and their lower order is like rabbits caught in cross hairs…

SRH may just speak to the stadium management and get those lights which are under the roof removed; not the first time a fielder has lost the ball tonight. Sandeep Sharma decides to not depend on his fielders to get his second wicket in one over. Williamson can do no wrong here, every bowler is standing up. My prediction for an early finish might come true, but the result is very different from what I foresaw!

OUT! Run out, really! Punjab have choked! No chance they can make it from here! Never a single there, Sran took off after getting the toe-end of the bat with ball dribbling to the right off the keeper. Ashwin sends Sran back after he was halfway down, with gloves on Saha shies at the stumps and hits! 8 down. SRH 2 wickets away.

Barinder run out Saha 2(5)

After 16 overs,Kings XI Punjab 97/7 ( Ravichandran Ashwin (C) 3 , Barinder Sran 1)

Punjab’s slide continues and so does SRH’s revival. In fact they are the favourites. 36 off last 4 isn’t impossible but not sure about Barinder Sran’s ability with the bat, Ashwin can he needs to stay till the end. Two wickets in the over!

Seven down now… you know what they said about Punjab being heavily dependant on Gayle and Rahul… you can pull that out of the locker box… this innings is in tatters. This match is going down to the proverbial wire.

SRH may just speak to the stadium management and get those lights which are under the roof removed; not the first time a fielder has lost the ball tonight. Sandeep Sharma decides to not depend on his fielders to get his second wicket in one over. Williamson can do no wrong here, every bowler is standing up. My prediction for an early finish might come true, but the result is very different from what I foresaw!

OUT! Sandeep Sharma was brought in to counter Chris Gayle. He couldn’t get him or any other wicket in his first three overs instead he has struck twice in his final over. KXIP review umpire’s call. Tye has to walk back as the ball-tracking shows the ball was clipping the leg stump, so the umpire’s call will sustain and Punjab lose 7th!  SRH are simply incredible! Was the change up, pitched on middle and Tye went to hit on the leg side was early in the shot, missing it completely.

Andrew Tye lbw b Sandeep Sharma 4(2)

FOUR! Tye has gone for it straightaway! Was high in the air and running back and sideways dives to complete the catch, gets his fingertips but calling this a drop would be harsh! The ball trickles into the boundary.

Another cheap dismissal… Manoj Tiwary gone… hints on his walk back that Sandeep Sharma cleverly bowled a slower ball at the last moment that fooled him into chipping that catch… Punjab’s innings suddenly looking like a joke.

OUT! Another wicket! Sixth batsman falls. Manoj Tiwary’s stay doesn’t last long. Bowling change has done the trick! Williamson is relieved to hold on to that as it seems he was blinded for a bit. He is on the ground and his fielders come over and around the captain. They believe they can do it! Wow! How has the game changed!

Manoj Tiwary c Williamson b Sandeep Sharma 1(5)

After 15 overs,Kings XI Punjab 91/5 ( Manoj Tiwary 1 , Ravichandran Ashwin (C) 2)

How have the Sunrisers come back into the game, they are making this small total look massive. Shakib has got the wicket off Finch and the Kings XI have lost half their side. this is slowly sliping away. Punjab needs to remain calm here. Captain, Ashwin is in early.

OUT! Oh dear! SRH has this unbelievable knack off making a match out of nothing! Finch tries to repeat what he did the last ball but doesn’t get the same power behind it the length was dragged slightly and he is caught really well in the deep by Manish Pandey. who remains composed near the boundary ropes.

Finch c Manish Pandey b Shakib 8(4)

Three wickets in 14 balls… and the game has turned on its head… Mayank Agarwal holed out. Karun Nair trapped and now Aaron Finch has slogged to a cheap dismissal… Hyderabad still in this… which is weird because Punjab were 55/0 at one stage not long ago… hara kiri!

The lowest total defended by SRH in IPL is 118 which they defended against MI in their last match at Wankhede.

Finch looking to take the required runs out of the equation; the intention was good but Shakib was better, just pulling his length back a fraction, allowing the ball to turn. This is exactly what Pavan Negi couldn’t do against Dhoni last night, Shakib showing his experience.  Rashid Khan has six balls more to bowl and those might just decide the match.

SIX! There is the release shot! Finch backs away and hammers it down the ground over long on for half a dozen! Pressure back on Shakib right away.

After 14 overs,Kings XI Punjab 82/4 ( Aaron Finch 2 , Manoj Tiwary 0)

Rashid Khan beats Nair off the first ball but is able to turn the strike over off the next ball. Aaron Finch doesn’t play the sweep, not convincingly though, gets a single. Nair is beaten once again, but this time it is fatal as he trapped in front.  What an eventful over as Manoj Tiwary has no clue how to deal with Rashid’s magic. Rashid wanted a review but Saha and other close in fielders advised against it and Williamson takes a practical call, the ball looked to go over the stumps.

OUT! Another amazing delivery by Rashid. The game is well open! Karun Nair is trapped right in front!  Wrong’un again does the trick. Typical delivery, hurried through the air and the sneaks past the inside edge and raps on the pad. Finch advises him not to take the review and rightly so.

Nair lbw b Rashid Khan 13(17)

Shakib Al Hasan becomes the first overseas left-arm spinner to take 50 wickets in IPL.

Mayank Agarwal holes out… another wasted opportunity… he has failed to convert his starts repeatedly. People say that IPL gets you national team’s call up. No, it just brings world wide attention to you because every one has heard that you scored runs in Ranji Trophy. Wasting opportunities in the IPL thereafter can be costly especially if the Indian team is choc-a-bloc full across all formats.

You wonder how a batter who was in such good form in the entire Ranji season can mis-read the length of that one. Shakib bowled that one into the pitch but Agarwal went through with his shot. SRH trying their best to make a fist of this, and Agarwal just helped them by exposing the out of form Finch.

After 13 overs,Kings XI Punjab 80/3 ( Karun Nair 12 , Aaron Finch 1)

Aaron Finch hasn’t had the best of the IPL so far. Chance for SRH to get him early and build pressure. With the wicket off the first ball and three singles off the over end of the 13th over. 53 needed off 42 balls. SRH just about managing to keep themselves in.

Aaron Finch in IPL 11:

0, 0, 14*, 2

OUT! Will never be able to understand the rationale behind Agarwal’s unwarranted shot! Comes down the track and plays against the spin to hit over long on. No real need for that and holes out to long on. He has thrown it away, just when KXIP were building a nice little partnership.

Mayank Agarwal c Manish Pandey b Shakib 12(15)

After 12 overs,Kings XI Punjab 77/2 ( Mayank Agarwal 12 , Karun Nair 10)

Tidy over from Rashid Khan giving away just four runs. SRH need wickets, the run-rate won’t really come in to play. Rashid Khan cmpletes his second over. Has only 12 balls remaining.

After 11 overs,Kings XI Punjab 73/2 ( Mayank Agarwal 10 , Karun Nair 8)

So Kane rotating his bowlers around after couple of overs by Thampi. Sid Kaul is back into the attack. These two might not be playing the big shots but they aren’t playing out the dots, something that Manish Pandey and Shakib and the other batsmen who came in afterwards weren’t able to do. These two collect six more runs off the over.

SRH scored only 19 runs in the ‘V’ region in their entire 20 overs while KXIP have scored 24 runs in the ‘V’ region from the first 10 overs itself.

After 10 overs,Kings XI Punjab 67/2 ( Mayank Agarwal 6 , Karun Nair 6)

Shakib begins with a floater outside offstump. Karun Nair drives it through covers for a couple. Excellent running by Nair and Mayank to take six risk-free runs off the over. Sensible batting. 66 needed 60 balls

And Gayle finally out to a fast bowler. Not just the extra bounce, but even the determination in the catch, which could have been taken by any of the three fielders, showing Thampi’s intensity. For WIlliamson, there is no point holding his best bowlers back, he needs to use them now, push the RRR up and maybe get a wicket or two.

So only one over for Rashid. He is still in the field though. Shakib Al Hasan comes onto bowl.

After 9 overs,Kings XI Punjab 61/2 ( Mayank Agarwal 5 , Karun Nair 1)

Gayle’s wicket just about gives SRH a teeny-tiny hope. Collison between Rashid Khan and Siddharth Kaul in the deep. Fortunately nothing too serious though we see Rashid touching his right shoulder and looks in bit of discomfort but all seems okay. Five runs off the over as new man Karun Nair gets off the mark with a single down to third man.

Two in two overs…. and Thampi has his revenge… Gayle miscues one and is out caught… good sprint from the bowler and calling as well to take that catch… Punjab have lost both Rahul and Gayle in quick succession, two batsmen they are heavily dependent on. Need a rebuilding job here. Meanwhile, Hyderabad show there is still life in this game.

OUT! Thampi persists with back of a length strategy and it has worked! Gayle was looking to muscle the pull, but was cramped for room, gets the top edge and Thampi asks all his teammates to stay away, suggesting he has got this one, runs and gobbles the catch! He is jubliated and why not!?

Gayle c and b Basil Thampi 23(22)

After 8 overs,Kings XI Punjab 56/1 ( Chris Gayle 23 , Mayank Agarwal 1)

Optimistic appeal from Rashid with the first ball he bowled to Gayle, was nothing in it, the ball clearly pitched down the leg side.Gayle v Rashid is going to be an interesting battle. Rahul is undone from Rashid special. Mayank Agarwal gets off the mark with single on the offside.

On a pitch with some extra bounce, it’s not just the pace bowlers that are more effective. Rashid has a high arm and quick action, unlike most wrist spinners, and so his short of length balls will be harder to hit on this surface. Expecting him to bowl that length to Gayle, he was too full last time.

OUT! Rashid Khan, you little beauty! KL Rahul played for the wrong’un but the ball just held its line. Rahul prods forward for tentative push, but the ball goes past the outside edge and into the off stump. Celebrations for Rashid, only a great delivery could beat Rahul, who is in his prime form.

Rahul b Rashid Khan 32(26)

Four consecutive opening 50-plus stands in IPL:

Gautam Gambhir/Robin Uthappa
Shikhar Dhawan/David Warner 
CHRIS GAYLE/KL RAHUL*

A bit circumspect against leg spin is Rahul… and Rashid brings out a jaffa… back of the hand, nice bounce, outside the line of bat’s edge and knocks back off stump… ripper! Rahul is bowled. Special delivery to get an in-form batsman out.

Last throw off the dice from Sunrisers. Rashid Khan brought in the eighth over.

After 7 overs,Kings XI Punjab 53/0 ( Lokesh Rahul (W) 31 , Chris Gayle 22)

Thampi goes round the wicket to the left hander, after battering a big six over long on, Gayle goes for it again but edges it the next time, fortunately for him the ball falls right in between point and third man fielder. He crosses over for a single. Yusuf Pathan with a piece of advice to Thampi before he runs in to bowl the last ball to Gayle, kept it full and Gayle taps it to short mid wicket for no run.

45/0 in 6 overs…. not the usual hectic pace from Punjab, but they are in no hurry seeing the target is quite small compared to what they have set or chased in the recent past. They are taking their sweet time and taking apart the Hyderabad attack… clinical is the word… need an example? Just as I type this… Gayle waits and waits and then pulls Basil Thampi for a six… next ball please!

SIX! Slightly short by Thampi and Chris Gayle belts it over long on for a huge six! KXIP go past 50!

Basil Thampi introduced into the attack

After 6 overs,Kings XI Punjab 44/0 ( Lokesh Rahul (W) 29 , Chris Gayle 15)

Rahul backs away on the leg side to find the gap past the short third man, Kaul followed him to deny room, Rahul cannot find the gap but almost ended up giving some catching practice but the ball fell just ahead of diving Sandeep at short third. Gayle gets a boundary and then takes a big swing at the slower ball, but gets an inside edge for no run. 44/0 After the powerplay, only one team is winning it from here on

FOUR! Kaul bowls it wide and full outside off stump but Gayle reaches out for it and squeezes it out to get it into the gap past the short third for a boundary.

Siddarth Kaul in this IPL:

23/3, 32/0, 33/1, 37/1, 29/2, 17/2

FOUR! Nothing wrong with the delivery, but it is fabulous stroke by the in form KL Rahul. He hits it straight back past the bowler and beats the mid on fielder.

Curious decision from Williamson to use Nabi against Gayle, when the left handed has a weaker record against pace early on. Especially on a wicket that has a bit of bounce like this, I would have liked to see Kaul first instead. But SRH are a pacer short, so he is being conserved for later.

Siddharth Kaul into the attack

After 5 overs,Kings XI Punjab 35/0 ( Lokesh Rahul (W) 24 , Chris Gayle 11)

Rahul takes five balls from Sandeep’s over and Gayle is happy to tap the last ball safely. Five runs off the over but KXIP are still going over the required rate. SRH desperately need couple of quick wickets to comeback into the game.

FOUR! Glorious! Sandeep pitched this up, looking for the big swing, Rahul brings out the cover drive and executes it to perfection.

After 4 overs,Kings XI Punjab 30/0 ( Lokesh Rahul (W) 19 , Chris Gayle 11)

Subdued approach from these two against Sandeep Sharma, but extremely smart as well, need not do anything fancy to get to 133. Rahul gets into the act as he slams Nabi 6,4 and 4 off the third, fourth and fifth delivery, knowing Sandeep would bowl next over, he takes the single to be on strike. Clever batting!

If Gayle doesn’t get you, Rahul will… what an explosive partnership this is… the proverbial shackles are broken and within an over…6,4, 4.. Rahul has put Punjab in the driver’s seat.

FOUR! Rahul has manufactured this shot! He knew that Nabi would bowl full, walks across his stumps and goes down on his knee and sweeps it over short fine leg fielder.

FOUR! Fraction short by Nabi and Rahul has cut this one. Such good timing on that one, the ball races across the surface.

SIX! Short ball by Nabi and Rahul is not going to miss out on those! Rocks back and slams it deep into the stands.

Bit of a brave start from Hyderabad here… brave in the sense that despite Rashid Khan taking a spanking from Gayle in the previous game… they opted for Mohammad Nabi to bowl the second over. And he was hit for just the one six…. Sandeep Sharma keeping things tight at the other end… 14/0 in 3 overs is a good start whichever way you look at it… that is until Gayle breaks the shackles.

After 3 overs,Kings XI Punjab 14/0 ( Lokesh Rahul (W) 4 , Chris Gayle 10)

Rahul has not blasted straightaway like he has been doing in previous game, watchful against the swing of Sandeep Sharma and it also keeps Gayle away from the strike against the bowler. This is where SRH needed more runs iun the bank to force KXIP batsmen to go for the shots, but in this case they can afford to play him out. Four singles off the last four balls, Sandeep is bowling it slightly straight to Gayle needs to aim at the off stump.

After 2 overs,Kings XI Punjab 10/0 ( Lokesh Rahul (W) 2 , Chris Gayle 8)

Gayle doesn’t take long to get the big hit, gets a maximum off the second ball, shimmies down the track again but hits it flat off the fourth ball, goes quickly to long off who takes it on the bounce. Wow what happened there!? Gayle was looking to come down the track once again and Nabi saw him coming, drops it wide and short, Gayle started dragging his foot back and he gets there in time. Stretched all the way back. Isa Guha on air suggests that all the Yoga he is serves him well here. What an entertainer!

SIX! Ahh! Here comes the biggie! Chris Gayle skips down the track and slams it straight down the ground.

Chris Gayle v Sandeep Sharma in IPL:

Runs – 49
Balls – 55
Dismissals – 4
SR – 89.09

Mohammed Nabi into the attack. Could a big move against Gayle. One slip in place!

Chris Gayle’s strike rate of 155.77 against SRH is the second highest for any player with a cut-off of 300 runs against them.

After 1 overs,Kings XI Punjab 2/0 ( KL Rahul (W) 1 , Chris Gayle 1)

Sandeep Sharma starts off with couple of inswingers. Rahul gets forward to negate the movement. Williamson attack with a slip. The crowd is aware off the Sandeep’s record over the big Jamaican as they make a roar, perhaps it is from the excitement of seeing universe boss bat. Slants it across Gayle, who floats his bat out and takes it in. Two slips for the left hander. Gayle takes the single off the final ball pushing it slightly wide off point.

The dangerous opening pair of KL Rahul and Chris Gayle are out in the middle. Sandeep Sharma has the new ball. This game will be done in a jiffy if these two bat for even 5 overs. If SRH strike early then they have the chance to expose Kings XI’s middle order and take the match deep.

Here we go!

If any team can defend 132, it has to be Sunrisers Hyderabad, can their bowling unit once again inspire and lift themselves to do the unthinkable, well we will soon find out.

No team has successfully chased down a target of 150-plus runs in IPL matches since 2015 in Hyderabad.

Ankit Rajpoot is the first Indian uncapped player to take a five-for in IPL.

So, Kings XI Punjab restrict SRH to 132/6 backed by a 5-wicket haul by Ankit Rajpoot! Kings XI need 133 runs to win this contest!

Best bowling figures for Indian pacers in IPL:

12/5 – Ishant Sharma for DC v KTK, Kochi, 2011
14/5 – Ankit Rajpoot for KXIP v SRH, Hyderabad, 2018*
19/5 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar for SRH v KXIP, Hyderabad, 2017 

Best bowling figures for KXIP in IPL:

14/5 – Ankit Rajpoot v SRH, Hyderabad, 2018*
25/5 – D Mascarenhas v PW, Mohali, 2012
13/4 – L Balaji v SRH, Sharjah, 2014

Two wickets in the last over and Rajpoot finishes with figures of 5-14… superb effort from the youngster on a grand stage… he sucked up any momentum Hyderabad might have garnered in the latter stages and in a way has negated Manish Pandey’s half-century. Even so, Hyderabad have something to bowl with yet they will need an even more massive effort to stop Gayle/Rahul than they did against Mumbai Indians the other night.

Only four boundaries in Pandey’s half century, his second scratchy fifty of the tournament. This is becoming a worrying trend for SRH: when he looks good, he doesn’t capitalise, and when he scores, his strike rate hurts the team. Yet another tough defence for the SRH bowlers, but how often can they keep bailing the team out? Well under par, watch out for an early finish tonight.

Slowest 50s for SRH in IPL:(By balls)

48 – MANISH PANDEY v KXIP, Hyderabad, 2018*
48 – Shikhar Dhawan v RPS, Hyderabad, 2016
45 – David Warner v KXIP, Hyderabad, 2017

After 20 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 132/6 ( Yusuf Pathan 21 , )

What a superb last over by Ankit Rajpoot, he finishes with 5 wickets for just 14 runs runs. Nabi slashed a boundary over point in the end to take SRH past 130. But will it be challenging against a powerful KXIP batting. Onus is again on the bowlers to bring their A game and continue from how they bowled at Wankhede. Looks really difficult for them but never say never. Join us for the chase!

OUT! Five-for for Ankit Rajpoot, he has been absolutely superb tonight! Nabi had to go for it and he cannot get the power as much as he would have liked on the final ball.  Holes out to long off, who takes a good catch running in. 

Nabi c Mayank Agarwal b Rajpoot 4(2)

OUT! Bowled! What a day Ankit Rajpoot is having. Bowls the full ball and Manish Pandey cannot get good contact with the bat sticking in the ground and the middle stumped knocked out.

Manish Pandey b Rajpoot 54(51)

After 19 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 126/4 ( Manish Pandey 53 , Yusuf Pathan 21)

Despite couple of boundaries in the over, Tye has manged to keep it down to 9. Such an asset to have him at the death. Goes wicket-less in his spell, but his four overs for 28 doesn’t portray how effective he has been

One new batter and one who is struggling to middle the ball at the crease for SRH . They will be hoping the once the fast bowlers come back on and they get some pace to work with. That is if the quicks bowl any quick balls. Dhoni talks about targeting bowlers, and it has to be Sran and Rajpoot for SRH

Fifty for Manish Pandey… a superbly timed knock and well played to the situation… now for some big strokes and taking Hyderabad closer to 140. Last couple overs, they have been trying to get the ball across… though the shots are not connecting. Not the easiest pitch to bat on.

FIFTY! Manish Pandey cracks at this one to smash it to cover boundary and get past his fifty. The innings wasn’t the best in terms of strike rate but he has been able to hang in there and get at least something on the board. Even if he can stike couple of lusty blows towards the end then it will add value.

After 18 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 117/4 ( Manish Pandey 48 , Yusuf Pathan 17)

Sunrisers have managed to take 13 runs off the over, Yusuf had to put in the dive to get back in time to complete two runs. Still need to eye 150.

SIX! The scorecard will show it as six but it was really a drop catch. Another oe put down. Some one from the SRH team has activated the butterfingers mode on as the KXIP fielders keep dropping catches. Manoj Tiwary this time. Yusuf the beneficiary. Was hit high and Tiwary never looked catching it perhaps he was thinking about being close to the boundary ropes.

After 17 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 104/4 ( Manish Pandey 47 , Yusuf Pathan 5)

Pandey outfoxed by Tye’s deception, unable to get bat on ball for the first two deliveries, gets an inside edge on to his pads and runs asingle as Sunrisers wriggle to 100. Pathan gets lot of power behind the straight shot but of no good use as it goes to the long off fielder. Pandey dropped once again and this time it is Mayank Agarwal.

DROPPED! Pandey hoicks it high and the fielder at deep mid wicket settles nicely under it. Mayank Agarwal misjudges it in the deep. Poor display of fielding throughout the day by KXIP. Really should have been taken by the fielder

After 16 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 99/4 ( Manish Pandey 43 , Yusuf Pathan 4)

Amazing over by Mujeeb. Discipline in his line and Yusuf Pathan prodded and tried defending with him beaten on more than couple of occasions. So tight in his line, giving absolutely nothing away. Only two runs off the over with five dots as he completes his quota that included a wicket and gave just 17 runs the economy rate just over 4. Incredible!

Four and Six… Manish Pandey attacking just before the second strategic break… again, Hyderabad’s ploy becoming obvious here. Good thing is they have kept wickets in hand, losing only Shakib in that interim of play. Might work to their advantage now with Pandey set and newer, latter batsmen looking to go for big runs. If Hyderabad can breach 135-140, we know they can strike with early wickets and put pressure on the opposition.

Yusuf Pathan has only scored one fifty from his last 15 IPL innings. However, he needs to play a cameo today to help SRH to post a respectable total.

After 15 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 97/4 ( Manish Pandey 43 , Yusuf Pathan 2)

The run rate goes above six with SRH taking 14 runs off Ashwin’s over. Need more of these as we approach the death overs, if Sunrisers want to leave something for the bowlers to defend.

SRH’s innings going at a snail’s place at the moment. Manish Pandey hit a six off Ashwin’s last over but they would need more of the big ones now if they are looking to put up a fighting total on the board.  

SIX! Pandey is finally able to get one over the line. Took it from outside off and swings it hard to deposit the ball over cow corner.

FOUR! Was the carrom ball that was pitched up and Pandey flicked it to deep square leg, the ball skids off the surface and bounces sharply, the fielder wasn’t alert with the sudden bounce, got his hand but only to palm it over the boundary. Ashwin not happy with the fielding effort.

After 14 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 83/4 ( Manish Pandey 30 , Yusuf Pathan 1)

Pandey looks to make room for himself but Mujeeb follows him not allowing any width and Pandey can only bunt it to  long off for a single. Shakib cuts it to point for another single. Was a risky shot with the ball close to the body.  Superb length by Mujeeb, Manish jumps down the track but cannot get under it to play the big shot, bobs it past the bowler for another single. The wicket was coming, Shakib perishes the next ball. Big Yusuf comes out to the centre, gets off the mark, playing the late cut from the stumps to short third.

OUT! Was on the cards, especially with the length Mujeeb is bowling, it makes it very difficult to get under and tonk him out of the ground, but what choice did Shakib have but to play the big shot. Manages to get the height but not the distance. Holes out to deep mid wicket fielder who runs in to take a good catch.

Shakib c Mayank Agarwal b Mujeeb 28(29)

And just as I typed that last update… Shakib had a huge swing… well, he connected but was out caught in the deep. The wicket doesn’t help, but you cannot argue the logic… one of them had to go the big shots. Also says perhaps that Hyderabad have decided to accelerate a tad early than thought…

Ankit Rajpoot was quite disappointed when Manish Pandey was dropped, but Ashwin will be pretty happy with how it’s turning out. Not picking the slower balls from Tye, not picking the spin from Mujeeb, and he is soaking up dot balls like a cardboard box in a lake.  SRH haven’t been good finishers with the bat, and Pandey has been one of the reasons.

After 13 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 76/3 ( Manish Pandey 27 , Shakib Al Hasan 27)

Tye keeps pulling out different sort of deliveries from his bag of tricks to keep the batsmen guessing.  But a boundary in the over along with three singles and a couple to take nine runs off the over.

FOUR! Finally some intent! Shakib improvises! Moves across his stumps, takes it from outside off and pulls it to long leg boundary for a one bounce four.

After 12 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 67/3 ( Manish Pandey 25 , Shakib Al Hasan 20)

Sunrisers Hyderabad struggling big time. Mujeeb is not easy to bowler to go after, so these two need to now start targeting a bowler and go after him. Time for go big or go home. Still the run rate is way below six.

After 11 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 62/3 ( Manish Pandey 21 , Shakib Al Hasan 19)

Tye begins with a knuckle ball. Manish was clearly outfoxed by it, somehow managed to keep it down. Another quiet over, just the five runs. Desperate need to find the the fence.

Shakib Al Hasan’s SR in T20 cricket:

Career – 122.15
2018 – 118.81

Will he be able to take SRH innings till the end?

Andrew Tye into the attack

After 10 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 57/3 ( Manish Pandey 17 , Shakib Al Hasan 18)

Shakib misses out to cut on couple of ocassions, he hasn’t really looked convincing so far with the bat. Very scratchy to be honest. Mujeeb starts well with giving away only three runs. One of the two batsmen will have play some shots. Cannot sit back, yes the three early wickets will hurt them but here we are at the halfway stage and the run rate is still under 6. With KXIP batting prowess 130-140 would be a walk in the park.

A holding period in the game, much needed for SRH. This is not a historically good chasing ground, but that won’t matter if SRH don’t put up 150, at least, and even that will be below par. Shakib vs Mujeeb will be a nice little  battle of overseas pros in the meta game of the next few overs.

Partnership of 26 off 20 balls…. little rebuilding job being done here but Punjab won’t be overtly worried about it at the moment. Between the first and second strategic breaks, if these two can stay at the wicket, Hyderabad might just have a semblance of a decent score.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman into the attack.

After 9 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 54/3 ( Manish Pandey 15 , Shakib Al Hasan 17)

Another good over by Ashwin as he gives away only four runs off the over. Time for the SRH to rebuild.

After 8 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 50/3 ( Manish Pandey 12 , Shakib Al Hasan 16)

Lot of low slingers from Manoj Tiwary as he had promised when he was on the mic early in the match. He has taken a leaf from Kedhar Jadhav’s bowling handbook. Slides one down the leg side for a wide and giving Rahul no chance behind the stumps as Pandey and Shakib run a couple to take three wides and with easy singles and couple of braces in the over. 10 runs off the over.

Manoj Tiwary comes on to bowl.

After 7 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 40/3 ( Manish Pandey 10 , Shakib Al Hasan 11)

Ravichandran Ashwin comes on to bowl the final over of the powerplay. Tidy start giving away three singles, but the last one could have resulted in a wicket for some casual work at the non-striker’s end by Shakib. Luckily for the home side Ashwin couldn’t gather it cleanly as he removed the bails with the ball not in hand.

Ravichandran Ashwin’s bowling average of 37.83 against SRH in IPL – the second worst for any bowler with a cut-off of five wickets against them.

After 6 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 37/3 ( Manish Pandey 9 , Shakib Al Hasan 9)

Unfortunate for Sran, he overstepped as Shakib was caught at third man and then he was hit for couple of boundaries. Great power play for Kings XI. Same old story for SRH, they have lost three wickets again in the power play.

FOUR! Sran goes short and wide again with Shakib striking it behind point to collect another boundary.

FOUR! Full-toss by Sran, a freebie on a free-hit and Shakib swivels to pull it square leg boundary.

No ball! Shakib was on his way after he hit a short and wide delivery to the third man and KXIP were celebrating with Sran picking his first wicket. Replays showed that Manish Pandey asked the umpire to check the front foot no-ball. Good spot there Manish, saved Shakib. Umpire referred it and yes Sran has overstpped.

After 5 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 27/3 ( Manish Pandey 9 , Shakib Al Hasan 0)

SRH are off to a horrible start. Ankit Rajpoot has removed the top order and he could have had his fourth.

Saha has been an asset for SRH behind the stumps, but a liability in front of them. Pandey looks like he could get out every other ball. And now Shakib gets a reprieve. We saw some extra bounce on this pitch in the first game played here, and it’s back and is proving the undoing of the home team, faced with two tall fast bowlers.

DROPPED! Ankit Rajpoot could so easily have his fourth wicket. Short ball and Manish Pandey pull it straight to the mid wicket fielder. But tye has dropped a sitter.

Wriddhiman Saha in IPL 11:

6 (Today), 0, 5*, 6, 24, 22, 5

He has struggled to make any impact this season for SRH.

Well, well, well…. third wicket down for Hyderabad within the powerplay overs. A nothing shot from Wriddhiman Saha, just slogged it in the air trying to manufacture something instead of playing to the grave situation and is out caught…. third wicket for Rajpoot… he is having a great night!

OUT! Horrible shot selection from Wriddhiman Saha, do not know what was the idea behind that shot. Saha was looking to slog it from outside off to the leg side and was never Rajpoot has his third.

 Saha c Andrew Tye b Rajpoot 6(9)

After 4 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 23/2 ( Wriddhiman Saha (W) 5 , Manish Pandey 6)

Barinder Sran yet to get his lines right unlike his bowling partner at the other end, who has found the right areas immediately. Seven runs off the over.

DROPPED! Pandey’s heart must have been up his mouth and as he mishit up in the air. R Ashwin running back dives, gets his hands to the ball but spills it, always difficult while running back. Early life for Pandey.

Manish Pandey in IPL 11:

16, 0, 57*, 4, 11

FOUR! Pandey gets off the mark with a boundary. Sran once again sprays it on his pads and he has whipped it through midwicket.

After 3 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 16/2 ( Wriddhiman Saha (W) 4 , Manish Pandey 0)

Ankit Rajpoot is breathing fire here. The extra purchase he is getting from the surface is clearly troubling the batsmen. Four off the first ball, followed by the wicket and four dots.

Such is the difficulty of playing a bowler who can swing the ball both ways. Dhawan watched Williamson fall to the outswinger, and then fell to the inswinger. He seemed to line up the movement, but had to contend with the bounce as well. 

Despite the 50 he scored in a losing cause, I think Manish Pandey is not in then best of form. Issues for SRH.

Extra bounce again and this time Dhawan returns to the stands… Rajpoot has made huge strides since that nervy game against Kolkata Knight Riders… justifying his selection ahead of Mohit Sharma… Karun Nair with a great low catch at slip… Hyderabad in serious trouble here!

Wriddhiman Saha v KXIP in IPL:

59*, 13, 0*, 6, 18, 6

OUT! Ankit Rajpoot is on fire here! He gets another wicket and it is another big wicket as Dhawan has edges it to first slip to Karun Nair as he takes fine catch. Superb bowling there. Held it back of length on leg stump and the ball slanting across the left-hander with touch of extra bounce, Dhawan had to play at it, extremely good bowling this! SRH lose their openers inside three overs.

S Dhawan c Nair b Rajpoot 11(8)

FOUR! Wasn’t intention as Dhawan was looking to cut it behind point but gets a fine edge, perhaps from bottom edge and it runs past the wide first slip and beats the third man to the fence

After 2 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 12/1 ( Shikhar Dhawan 7 , Wriddhiman Saha (W) 4)

Dhawan clips it for a couple off the second ball post which he is tested with a bouncer and Dhwan is slightly late on the pull. Good bouncer by Sran.Two boundaries in the over as he missed his lines couple of times.

FOUR! Sran strays in line against, doesn’t adjust to the right-hander, on Saha’s pads and he clips it fine to collect four.

What a start for Punjab and Ankit Rajpoot… continues his fine form from the Delhi game and has removed Kane Williamson early. Never mind Dhawan’s form, this was Hyderabad’s most dependable batsman so far in the tournament. Early ascendancy for the visitors tonight!

FOUR! Do not bother running there! Barinder Sran bowls it wide to Dhawan who throws his hands at it to square drive it through covers

Got to say that was poor shot selection from Williamson. The ball was swinging away, so pulling it on to the leg side was always a low percentage shot. Williamson plays the pull so well when the ball is within the stumps. Saha being cast at the top yet again, as SRH continue to look for the right batting order.

Pace from both sides. Barinder Sran to bowl the second over.

After 1 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 1/1 ( Shikhar Dhawan 1 , Wriddhiman Saha (W) 0)

Rajpoot starts with a loosener first up, short and wide outside off stump and Shikhar Dhawan slashes hard, flies to third man but goes on the bounce to Mujeeb Ur Rahman and he doesn’t gather it cleanly with the ball going through his arms and getting a knock on his face, just above his eye. Well, well what a start! Williamson goes without scoring and Wriddhiman Saha has walked in at number three. Best possible start for the visitors.

This was the first duck for Kane Williamson in IPL.

OUT! Kane Williamson gone! The in form man is dismissed for a duck.  Back of a length by Rajpoot and Williamson tried to flat bat it straight, the extra bit of a bounce does the trick with the ball going up off the top edge to Ravichandran Ashwin takes a simple catch at mid off.

Massive setback to Sunrisers.

K Williamson c R Ashwin b A Rajpoot 0 (3)

Shikhar Dhawan’s strike rate of 128.64 against KXIP in IPL which is the third lowest for any batsman with a cut-off of 500 runs against them.

Chris Gayle is back for Punjab as well. So you can look forward to another fiery start. No chances for Sunrisers Hyderabad means Bhuvi is still missing out. Dhawan is playing, but they are increasingly dependent on Kane Williamson to score runs. Can Punjab keep their winning momentum going?

Finally, roll of the dice from R Ashwin… Yuvraj Singh has been dropped after a poor first half of the season. Manoj Tiwary is included in his place as Kings XI Punjab opt to bowl after winning toss. 

Not really a surprising call this. Many saw it coming. After Gambhir’s frank admission yesterday, maybe Yuvraj needs to speak with himself too.

SRH has the lowest run-rate among all the teams in this season of IPL – 7.85.

Here come the Sunrisers Hyderabad left hand-right hand opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson.

Ankit Rajpoot, who was the Man of the match, in their previous game against Delhi Daredevils, will start the proceedings with the ball for KXIP.

So still no Bhuvaneshwar Kumar for SRH. He was the best bowler among the ruins of the Gayle Storm last time. But SRH are batting first, and eyes are on Shikhar Dhawan who will be itching to make his presence felt again. Easily the best bowling side in the tournament, SRH’s middle order have been the weak link, and you can’t win a long tournament like that. They will need to give the bowlers enough to defend.

SRH v KXIP at Hyderabad in IPL:

Matches – 5
SRH won – 4
KXIP won – 1

SRH v KXIP in IPL:

Matches – 11
SRH won – 8
KXIP won – 3

In the last meeting between these teams, Chris Gayle blew away the SRH bowlers. He is set to return after missing the last game for SRH, Siddarth Kaul’s performance has been brilliant, he’s carried the weight of an international despite being uncapped, a real value for money pick. The team with the best economy in the powerplay, going up against a team that has scored at more than 10 an over in the first six. A critical battle will be Rashid Khan vs Gayle. Last time Gayle dominated, proving that Rashid wasn’t unplayable, so Rashid’s mindset will be very interesting to see.

They seem to be pretty happy even after losing the toss

The Kings have won the toss and we will be out on the field batting first. We all know how it turned out the last time we batted first😏#SRHvKXIP #IPL2018

— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) April 26, 2018

Bhuvneshwar Kumar not fit yet, misses out
​
Sunrisers Hyderabad XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson(c), Wriddhiman Saha(w), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Basil Thampi, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma

Chris Gayle is back, no Yuvraj Singh

Kings XI Punjab XI: KL Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Aaron Finch, Manoj Tiwary, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Barinder Sran, Ankit Rajpoot, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Manoj Tiwary gets look in for Yuvraj Singh

SRH field unchanged XI

TOSS: Ravichandran Ashwin wins toss and KXIP have decided to field first. 

KXIP captain, R Ashwin: “I think the wicket is going to be pretty good. We’ll hope to restrict them. We are winning games and these are quality players whom we are talking about. Aaron is too good a player not to come good in games so far. Hopefully they’ll come good as the tournament goes on.”

SRH captain, Kane Williamson: Very dangerous player, Gayle, but its important to stick to our plans. Hopefully we can contain him. The surfaces this year have been different from one another. We need to do well to adapt. Nice to be back home though. But we’ve got a job to do with the bat first. We are playing the same team.

Pitch report:

Some greenery on the surface. In India, you seem some grass to hold it together. This pitch is quite hard. 63 meters on one side. If you bat first you got to score 170 or more, then you have 77 percent chance of winning the match. Good pitch and expectation that it will be good all night. 

Toss coming up in 5 minutes. Stay tuned.

SRH likely to field Sandeep Sharma in the playing XI, the swing bowler has been a Gayle’s nemesis getting him out four times in the 47 balls he has bowled at him giving away 55 runs

Concerns of injuries in both camps in Chris Gayle (KXIP) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (SRH)

Very little doubt over the fact that the battle will be against Sunrisers bowling prowess versus KXIP’s batting might. SRH will be looking to get one back on Punjab.

Another intruiging contest will be Chris Gayle, who missed out the last game due to soreness, versus, Afghanitan’s Rashid Khan.

The wristspinner was mauled in their previous meeting but is coming back on Man of the Match performance. So lot to look forward to as we build towards the toss.

So another exciting match in the offing. These two teams met a weak before and a Gaylestorm blew the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Since then SRH came close to chase down 182 against Chennai Super Kings and couple of nights ago scripted history by defending the lowest total on Indian soil in IPL history. Sunrisers bowlers came to the party at Wankhede to bowl Mumbai Indians for 81.

Meanwhile KXIP are going through a purple patch and sitting pretty at the second position, courtesy their batting heft, though when the batsmen failed in the previous match against Delhi, the bowling did enough to edge out the Daredevils.

A charged-up Sunrisers Hyderabad will have revenge on their minds when they face an in-form Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League on Thursday. Catch the preview here .

Chennai Super Kings has been involved in many last-over thrillers this year in IPL. Here is the list of all the humdingers they have been part of thus far.

Hello and welcome to Firstpost’s coverage of 25th IPL match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab.