IPL 2024: Indian talent pool shines in Sunrisers Hyderabad's thrilling victory over Punjab Kings

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are like the the modern-day England team, relentless with their attacking philosophy who have been emboldened by the star cast of Travis Head, Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen. But the superstars didn’t come good on Tuesday in their game against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur. They won’t come good everyday.

When they do, they can blow you into smithereens.

In the match at home in the Uppal stadium against Mumbai Indians last month, Head, Markram and Klaasen all fired together as SRH set the record for the highest total (277) in IPL history .

But at Mullanpur, Arshdeep Singh and Indian pacers had the numbers of the explosive Australian opener and the ‘Brothers of Destruction’ from South Africa. The situation got so bad at one stage that SRH had to bring in their Impact Sub Rahul Tripathi as early as in the sixth over after losing three wickets in the powerplay. And yet if you haven’t watched the game you will be surprised to know that Hyderabad went on to win the match.

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Their first away win in IPL 2024 was orchestrated by a rookie Indian talent, Nitish Reddy.

Three games old in the IPL and with just 14 runs from one innings, the 20-year-old from Visakhapatnam may have seen himself as a misfit in a constellation of T20 stars. He, however, would now be doubly confident of his abilities after a match-winning knock of 64 from just 37 balls against Punjab.

The Reddy show

What impressed most through his innings was his maturity. Seen as a pace-bowling all-rounder, Reddy was given an opportunity to bat at No. 4 by SRH and the youngster grabbed it with both hands.

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In the last game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), he had scored a quick-fire 14 off eight balls from the lower order but against Punjab he was needed to do two jobs – steady the innings but also stay true to SRH’s philosophy of attacking all the time. He did so by being cautious at the start and allowed the senior batters like Tripathi and Klaasen to take the initiative. After first 18 balls, his score read just 14.

He, however, had restricted the fall of wickets from one end and once Tripathi departed to leave SRH reeling at 64/4 at the halfway mark, Reddy summoned the spirit of the youngster who once scored a quadruple ton in the Vijay Merchant Trophy. His pull shots were a treat to watch as the right-hander scored 50 off his next 19 balls and helped Sunrisers get to a match-winning total of 182.

Shashank-Ashutosh blitz

Reddy also took a wicket while bowling as PBKS also endured a similarly poor start, losing three wickets in the powerplay. Just like SRH, Punjab’s batting heavyweights also gave up a little too early on a high-scoring pitch, either not getting a start or failing to capitalise after teeing off.

Where Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran and Sikandar Raza failed, Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma once again proved to be the saviours. They, however, could not get a win for PBKS, falling inches short (by two runs) despite Shashank hitting a six on the last ball.

The two drop catches and Jaydev Unadkat losing his bearing in the final over of the match did help Shashank-Ashutosh to take the game that close eventually, but their maturity and temperament under pressure in a big IPL chase is thing to behold.

To do it once ( against Gujarat Titans ) could be a fluke but to come so close to repeating the heroics speaks of their talent. The duo added 66 runs together off just 27 balls, with Shashank making 46 not out off 35 and Ashutosh scoring unbeaten 33 off 15, and provided the necessary impetus to PBKS when they were struggling at 114/6 in the 16th over.

They couldn’t win the game but scripted another spectacle that lived up to the expectations that IPL has set for itself.

Another IPL expectation that the game lived up to is that it’s truly the tournament where talent meets opportunity. On a day the big names flopped, the rookie Indian stars grabbed the limelight and highlighted the depth of India’s talent pool.