PBKS vs SRH: Today Was A Really Strong Performance On A Different Surface - SRH Captain Kane Williamson

The 28^th match of the IPL 2022 saw Punjab Kings (PBKS) taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on April 17, 2022. This was a crunch match for both sides as they were coming off a win in their last matches in the tournament.

Kane Williamson of SRH won the toss and chose to bowl first. Punjab Kings is being led by Shikhar Dhawan as Mayank Agarwal hurt his toe in the nets and Prabhsimran Singh replaced him in the XI.

The PBKS innings belonged to Liam Livingstone as he made 60 in 33 balls with 4 sixes and 5 fours as they finished on 151 in 20 overs. Shahrukh Khan also contributed 26 important runs, while the other PBKS batters struggled to find a rhythm on the slow DY Patil pitch.

While Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked 3/22, the best bowler from Sunrisers Hyderabad proved to be Umran Malik who claimed his IPL best figures of 4/28 in 4 overs. Malik picked three wickets in the 20^th over of the PBKS innings and became only the fourth bowler to bowl a maiden in the last over.

Guys Are Enjoying Their Cricket As Well And Adjusting Nicely: Kane Williamson

In reply, the Sunrisers Hyderabad started off poorly as captain Kane Williamson got out for 3 runs. But then Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi got together and gave the innings a move on. Sharma made 31 in 25 balls with 3 fours and one six, while Tripathi looked good in his 22-ball 34 runs knock which had 4 crunching fours and 1 six.

After these two got out, PBKS had a chance to make inroads, but Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran put an end to that, as they added 75* runs for the 4^th wicket. Pooran remained unbeaten on 35 in 30 balls, while Markram hit 41* in 27 balls and hit a six to finish the match. SRH won the match by 7 wickets and registered their fourth win in a row and moved ot the 4^th spot in the IPL 2022 points table.

Here is what the winning captain Kane Williamson had to say about SRH’s fourth win in a row in the after-match presentation.

He said: “It’s been a nice period of play for us as a side. There’s been a lot of growth. It’s a long season, lot of cricket left. As a side, it’s important we continue to look to improve. Today was a really strong performance on a surface that was a little bit different. Every team is strong, but for us, it’s just focusing on our cricket. Every team is so different from the previous year after a big auction, so it’s hard to look back too far. Certainly our attention is on the side in terms of the contributions that we want to make, the style of cricket that we want to play and so far there’s been a lot of learning.

Guys are enjoying their cricket as well and adjusting nicely. We know the challenges come thick and fast and we’ll be looking forward to our next one. Both (Markram and Pooran) made outstanding contributions in the first half of this competition so far and both are clearly quality players. We’ve chased every game so far and they’ve been there at the end and done it beautifully. It’s important for all of us we keep looking to continue to play our roles and give as much as we can to the team. Stats suggest one thing but at the end of it, it’s what’s the style of cricket that is going to give us the best chance and how we can commit to that as best as we can.

So far we’ve managed to put out some strong performances and we’ll continue to try and improve and put out better ones. Whether it’s sixes or fours or twos on different-sized grounds, whatever it is, it’s important for us that we are aware of that and we try and commit to that. A big turning point in the game (last five overs – 6/29 in the first innings), they would have liked a few more runs. But having said that, it wasn’t an easy chase on that surface. The death bowling today was outstanding. There were so many parts throughout the game that were brilliant and that was certainly a highlight for us.”

SRH will next face off against RCB on April 23 at the Brabourne Stadium in the 36^th match of the IPL 2022.

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