Arya, Prabhsimran trump Abhishek's PP blitz as PBKS remain unbeaten

SRH threatened to breach 300 but fell comfortably short, posting 219/6. PBKS' bowlers recovered from a poor Powerplay to restrict the total. Their batters then decimated the Sunrisers, securing a six-wicket win in New Chandigarh on Saturday (April 11).

Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 219/6 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 74, Travis Head 38, Heinrich Klaasen 39; Shashank Singh 2-20) lost to Punjab Kings 223/4 in 18.5 overs (Shreyas Iyer 69*, Priyansh Arya 57, Prabhsimran Singh 51; Shivang Kumar 3-33) by 6 wickets.

Who were the stars for SRH with the bat?
Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head. Abhishek was dominant on his home ground, tearing into Arshdeep Singh. A 24-run third over was followed by him carting Vijaykumar Vyshak for four sixes in the fifth. His 18-ball fifty rekindled memories of his 141 against PBKS last year. Head powered along as SRH ransacked 105 in the Powerplay.

Then how did they end with just 219?
Shashank Singh was the unlikely hero, returning 2/20. He dried the runs before removing both Head and Abhishek. Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen struggled to accelerate, with only 46 runs coming in the six overs after the Powerplay. PBKS bowlers executed their yorkers well to limit the damage.

How did PBKS respond with the bat?
Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh mirrored SRH's aggressive start. Feeding left-arm spin to Arya in the first over backfired for SRH, conceding 18 runs. Prabhsimran created his length at will, while Arya took a liking to Harshal Patel in a 21-run fifth over. Their 93/0 in the Powerplay, with Arya's 16-ball fifty, shut the game beyond SRH's reach.

Captain Shreyas steers the ship again
Shivang Kumar dismissed Arya, Prabhsimran, and Cooper Connolly. However, the asking rate never troubled PBKS with skipper Shreyas Iyer in the middle. He played out Shivang before attacking Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshal Patel. Needing 41 off the last five overs, Shreyas slammed Harshal for 18 in the 15th over and brought up a splendid half-century. Shashank Singh fittingly added the finishing touches.

Where do the teams head next?
SRH head home to face the Rajasthan Royals on Monday (April 13). PBKS travel to the Wankhede Stadium to face the Mumbai Indians on Thursday (April 16).