IPL 2018: Ankit Rajpoot’s fifer in vain, Sunrisers Hyderabad win by 13 runs vs Kings XI Punjab

It was a bowlers’ day out at the Indian Premier League on Thursday. While for Kings XI Punjab the hero was Ankit Rajpoot, for Sunrisers Hyderabad it was their famed bowling unit led by Rashid Khan. (SRH vs KXIP updates)

Rajpoot claimed this edition’s maiden five-wicket haul (5/14) as Kings XI restricted Sunrisers to 132/6. In reply, the Kings XI were all out for 119 with Rashid Khan taking three wickets. Kings XI’s hara-kiri can be gauged from the fact they had lost their first wicket on 55. Kings XI’s loss was Sunrisers’ gain as for the second straight match they defended a sub-135 total. (SRH vs KXIP scorecard)

Roar of Rajpoot

At the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here, it was all about Rajpoot after Kings XI opted to field first. He generated unusual bounce which the host batsmen found hard to deal with. Captain Kane Williamson has been Sunrisers’ lone consistent performer with the bat so far and Rajpoot started his onslaught with the Kiwi’s wicket in the very first over. Rajpoot surprised the Sunrisers’ top run-getter with a short-pitched delivery as Williamson’s attempted pull landed in the hands of Ravichandran Ashwin at mid-off.

If Williamson’s wicket silenced the 31,000-odd crowd, his next dismissal sent shock waves. Again it was the bounce that caught Shikhar Dhawan by surprise. He poked the ball that was going away and edged to Karun Nair at first slip. The Surisers had lost both their openers in 2.2 overs with only 16 run on board. Coming back in the fifth over, Rajpoot dismissed Wriddhiman Saha whose attempted slog was caught by Andrew Tye at mid-off. Sunrisers went into a cocoon. There was a period of six overs – from 7th to 12th- where no boundary was scored.

Pandey fights

Pandey combined with Shakib to stitch a 54-ball 52 run stand. It was only after Shakib departed in the 14th over off Mujeeb Ur Rahman that he upped the ante. He particularly went after Ravichandran Ashwin in the 16th over and hit the match’s first six. Rajpoot however again returned for his last over to pick the wickets of Pandey and Mohammed Nabi to complete his haul.

Kings XI openers Chris Gayle and KL Rahul shared a 55-run stand in their chase but the plot began to change when both departed in successive overs off Rashid Khan and Basil Thampi respectively.

Kings XI still needed 56 runs when Sunrisers got their third wicket in the 13th over as Mayank Agarwal was caught at long on by Manish Pandey off Shakib Al Hasan. It was also the Bangladesh player’s 50th IPL wicket.

In 14th over, Rashid trapped Karun Nair plumb in front of the wicket. Next up was Finch, who went for a wild heave and was caught by Pandey at long-on. The balance further shifted when Tiwary, playing his first match, too departed after getting outfoxed by a slower one from Sandeep Sharma. The fast bowler reduced Punjab to seven-down as he got Andre Tye out leg-before.

If this was not enough Barinder Sran got run out before Ashwin was dismissed by Rashid. With one wicket left, Kings XI still needed 32. Mujeeb Ur Rehman and Ankit Rajpoot took the equation to 15 off six balls but could not get the job done.