MATCH REPORT
Follow UsIt doesn’t happen often that Jonny Bairstow takes as many as 48 balls in a T20 match to score his half-century. It also doesn’t happen often that KL Rahul scores only three runs in a T20I innings. For the simple fact that both these things happened in Wednesday’s afternoon encounter, one can understand the classic anomaly of this function and in extension, can figure out the dysfunction of a side that traded a bowler for an extra batsman, only to post a total of 120 runs.
Playing their first game in Chennai this season, Punjab Kings went into an introspection mode right from the start. KL Rahul, during his brief stay, never looked to be in control as was Mayank Agarwal, who was given an early reprieve. Trying to take the aggressive route right from the beginning, Rahul holed out to Kedar Jadhav at mid-wicket following which it was a one-way street. Agarwal soon followed suit, leaving the side at 39-2 in 7 overs.
With Rashid Khan already in the attack, many hoped that Gayle’s incredible record against the leggie would keep Punjab in good stead. But it was far from that. In 10 games before this, when Rashid Khan and Chris Gayle faced each other in the T20s, the Jamaican had the wood over him, scoring at 196 with an average of 51, but on the slow decks of Chepauk, Rashid bowled a slider to catch the Jamaican plumb in front.
Pooran’s poor form continued with yet another game as he became only the second player after Shane Warner to have been dismissed on the diamond duck (a duck without facing a ball), a golden duck (a duck of the first ball) and a silver duck (a duck of the second ball) in a season of IPL. Rashid continued his mastery before Abhishek Sharma and Khaleel Ahmed joined the party to reduce the side to 101-7.
Shahrukh Khan was the only hope to land some lusty blows and take the side to a decent total and he did his best. A couple of sixes off his bat was full of finesse and power that left many hopeful but it was cut short by Khaleel Ahmed as Punjab were bundled out for 120.
For the kind of fragility that Sunrisers Hyderabad had shown in their previous games, one wouldn’t have considered them a run-away winner if not for the boost provided by Kane Williamson, who had replaced Manish Pandey in the playing XI. The assurance at No.3 allowed Bairstow and Warner to play freely but as soon as the Aussie was sent back by Fabian Allen, things had to be taken care of cautiously.
Neither Bairstow and Williamson seemed to be in a hurry by playing according to the merit of the ball. The 48-ball half-century was, in fact, the slowest T20 half-century ever recorded by the batsman. The Kiwi man had to play the second fiddle, for there was no urgency in finishing things off. Williamson scored a 19-ball 16 to take the game into the penultimate over and then a wide by Arshdeep Singh handed an easy victory to the 2016 Champions to open their account in the IPL 2021.
