IPL 2024: SRH beat PBKS, stay alive in top-two race
What's the story
Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Punjab Kings by four wickets in the penultimate league match of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL).
It was a high-scoring duel as SRH chased down 215 thanks to a whirlwind 66 from Abhishek Sharma.
Meanwhile, Prabhsimran Singh's 71 went in vain.
With this win, SRH kept their hopes for a top-two finish alive.
Here are the key stats.
PBKS
PBKS post a strong total
PBKS were off to a stellar start as Prabhsimran (71) and Atharva Taide (46) added 97 runs for the opening wicket.
Prabhsimran recorded a 54-run partnership with Rilee Rossouw (49) as well.
Stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma chipped in with 32* off 15 balls as PBKS finished at 214/5.
T Natarajan was the pick of the SRH bowlers, claiming 2/33 in four overs.
SRH
Summary of SRH's chase
SRH lost the in-form Travis Head on the very first ball of the innings.
Abhishek and Rahul Tripathi (33) then rescued the hosts with a fiery 72-run partnership.
The former added 57 runs with Nitish Reddy as well before departing.
Reddy (37) was then joined by Heinrich Klaasen (42) as the scoring rate continued to go up.
SRH crossed the line in 19.1 overs.
Prabhsimran
Fourth fifty-plus score for Prabhsimran in IPL
Prabhsimran hammered a stunning 71 off 45 balls. He smashed seven fours and four sixes.
This was Prabhsimran's fourth fifty-plus score in IPL as he has now raced to 756 runs at 22.23 (100: 1). His strike rate is 146.22.
Meanwhile, he finished IPL 2024 with 334 runs, striking at 156.80 (50s: 2).
Prabhsimran now boasts 2,103 T20 runs (SR: 143.54).
40s
Crucial 40s from Taide and Rossouw
Taide made an impressive return to the XI as he made 46 off 27 balls.
The young southpaw now boasts 247 IPL runs at a strike rate of 147.02.
Rossouw, who made 49 off 24 balls, narrowly missed out on his third IPL fifty.
The South African batter now has 473 runs in the cash-rich league at a strike rate of 153.57.
Natarajan
Fine spell from Natarajan
Natarajan was the pick of the SRH bowlers, claiming 2/33 in four overs.
With 17 scalps at an economy of 9.25, the left-arm pacer is SRH's leading wicket-taker this season. '
Overall, he now boasts 65 IPL scalps with his economy being 8.90.
Meanwhile, Pat Cummins and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth claimed one wicket apiece for SRH.
Abhishek
Another destructive knock from Abhishek
Abhishek was at his destructive best as he made 66 off just 28 deliveries (5 fours, 6 sixes).
The southpaw (41) piped Virat Kohli (37) to become the leading six-hitter in the ongoing season.
The SRH star has raced to 467 runs IPL 2024 as his strike rate of 209.42 is the highest among batters with 340-plus run (50s: 3).
Stats
Here are his overall numbers
With this knock, Abhishek has raced to 1,359 runs in 60 IPL games at 26.65. He owns seven half-centuries in the cash-rich league (SR: 155.67).
This was his maiden fifty against PBKS as he now has 173 runs across seven outings against them as his strike rate reads 164.76.
Harshal
Harshal finishes the season with 24 scalps
Harshal Patel, who claimed 4/49 in his four overs, finished IPL 2024 with 24 scalps.
He is currently the leading wicket-taker of the tournament. Overall, he owns 135 IPL scalps (ER: 8.75).
Meanwhile, Arshdeep Singh claimed 2/37 in his four overs.
While he finished the season with 19 scalps, the left-arm speedster now has 76 IPL scalps (ER: 9.02).
Duo
Key contributions from SRH duo
Tripathi made a brilliant 18-ball 33 on return. He registered four boundaries and two maximums.
He now owns 2,135 IPL runs at a strike rate of 138.45. Meanwhile, the young Reddy made 37 off 25 balls.
The tally includes one boundary and three sixes. The 20-year-old has raced to 276 runs at a strike rate of 151.64 in his maiden IPL season.
Klaasen
Crucial 42 from Klaasen
Klaasen's fiery batting in the crunch overs made sure there was no twist in the tale.
With the help of three boundaries and two sixes, he made 42 off 24 balls.
The dasher finished the league stage of the season with 381 runs at a strike rate of 183.17 (50s: 3).
Overall, the Proteas wicketkeeper-batter has 895 IPL runs, striking at 172.77.
Records
SRH record their joint-highest successful chase in IPL
Meanwhile, this was SRH's joint-highest successful chase in IPL as they accomplished the 215-run target against Rajasthan Royals as well last season.
The Orange Army's tally of six 200-plus scores in IPL 2024 is the joint-most for any team in a season.
SRH now own the most sixes by a team in a T20 competition (160).
Points table
SRH eye a top-two finish
SRH finished the league stage with eight wins in 14 games. They hence boast 17 points (NRR: +0.414).
Though the Orange Army has displaced Rajasthan Royals at the second place, the Men in Pink can reclaim the spot by defeating table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders in the final leage-stage fixture.
Meanwhile, PBKS finished ninth in the table with five wins across 14 matches (NRR: -0.353).
Importance
Significance of a top-two finish
Teams finishing in the top two will get an additional chance to qualify for the final.
The top two sides will tussle in Qualifier 1.
While the winner will advance to the summit clash straightaway, the loser will head to Qualifier 2, awaiting the winner of the Eliminator. Teams finishing third and fourth will tussle in the Eliminator.