IPL 2022: Sunrisers set the pace

Liam livens it up

After six games this season, Liam Livingstone has a strike rate of 185 and an average over 37. The English all-rounder has made quite an impact, and does it as soon as he comes in to bat. Within his first five deliveries on Sunday, for instance, he’d already lapped Marco Jansen for a four and a six, and also driven him past cover for four more in a much more conventional fashion.

The smile says it all – how much have we enjoyed watching Livingstone bat!

4 boundaries & 4 sixes in his 50*

Half century for Liam as PBKS coast along to 126/4 with 5 overs to spare #PBKSvSRH #TATAIPL

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Livingstone lapped it so fine it would have been a boundary even if fine leg had been right back on the rope, and he was on one occasion. And then the orthodox stroke in the same over. How does one set a field for him?

He has immense power, and used it judiciously against Malik’s express pace. Having seen that it was risky trying to flat-bat his lifters outside off, Livingstone used the pace instead and steered it all the way over third man. It was only when the length was full enough that he swung it hard down the ground; his partner Shahrukh Khan had to duck under a nearly 150kph bullet that ricocheted back off Livingstone’s power-swing for a straight four.

Malik on fire

There is that taut expectation when Malik steams in that can be created only by the very fastest of bowlers. In essence, either the ball will fly off the bat or the stumps will. When batsmen try to slap him through extra cover, the ball hits the bat much earlier and runs to third man, as happened to Shahrukh Khan.

Pace. Bounce. Wicket!

Umran Malik gets Jitesh Sharma caught & bowled

PBKS are now 62/4 in 9 overs #TATAIPL | #PBKSvSRH

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Or he is right at the throat before the batsman is through with his futile flail, and the weakest of top edges settles triumphantly in his hands, as happened to Jitesh Sharma. The field for Shahrukh at one stage was deep backward square leg, a very fine leg, a long stop beside the sightscreen, a third man and a deep backward point, leaving no doubt as to what length was coming.

Malik began the season with a primary emphasis on pace, and it seemed at times, pace alone. But he’s made life progressively harder for batsmen by adding some control and actually landing the ball on a hard length, instead of going mostly full and broke for the stumps. And when that happened on Sunday, no one was able to handle the heat, barring Livingstone. After he fell for 60 off 33 off the last ball of the 19th over, Malik bowled only the fourth 20th-over maiden ever in the IPL. He uprooted the stumps of No. 9 and No. 10 for figures of 4 for 28, and No. 11 ran himself out on the last delivery. It meant Punjab had scored just 19 in the last four.

Bhuvi shows the way

Having bowled the opening over, Bhuvneshwar had seen that the ball was holding in the pitch, especially when dug in short of a length. He would get all three of his big wickets – stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan, Shahrukh and Livingstone – with similar pulled-back lengths. And among the merely 22 runs he conceded was a back-away-and-hack from Odean Smith at a short ball that just eluded the converging long-on and long-off and lurched over the rope.

SRH get the much-needed breakthrough as PBKS lose Shahrukh Khan

2 wickets in the bag for Bhuvi so far! #PBKSvSRH #TATAIPL

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Apart from a few charges at the left-arm spin of J Suchith, Shahrukh had barely managed to middle anything. And as soon as Bhuvneshwar returned for the 17th, he banged it in short and Shahrukh’s heave could only end in another straightforward top-edged catch.

Off the last ball of his spell, Bhuvneshwar claimed Livingstone. Perhaps the all-rounder was trying to keep the strike or perhaps looking to place the ball wide enough of the sweeper for four. But he ended up just stabbing what was yet another short and widish ball tamely to extra cover.

Sunrisers may have not done wonders with their batsmen-buying at this year’s big auction. But even in the absence of Rashid Khan and with the constant development of Malik, their attack is starting to look familiarly threatening again; if the conditions offer even a bit, they’ll squeeze all that help out as a bunch. And when Washington Sundar returns after recovering from a split webbing, they’ll only get stronger.

No-hiccup chase

As always with Sunrisers, if any team could make a mess of a chase of 152, it was them. But on Sunday, they didn’t. They lost only captain Kane Williamson in the Powerplay, and Rahul Tripathi’s 34 off 22 provided the slight thrust that the pursuit needed at that point. At 77 for 3 in the 11th, it could have got interesting considering it was still a Sunrisers chase. However, Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran did what was required without attempting anything outlandish. And that was more than enough to collect their fourth win in six matches.