IPL 2021: PBKS hold nerve to beat SRH in low-scoring thriller

Sharjah [UAE], September 25 (ANI): Punjab Kings (PBKS) held their nerve as they defeated SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) by five runs in a low-scoring Indian Premier League (IPL) thriller here at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Ravi Bishnoi scalped three wickets while Mohammad Shami returned with two wickets for PBKS. For Hyderabad, Wriddhiman Saha and Jason Holder played innings of 31 and 47* respectively.
Punjab just about scraped together enough with the bat to post the score of 125, and then with the ball in hand, they did the business. For SRH, Jason Holder did brilliantly with both bat and ball. But the team in orange came up short in what was a crucial match to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Chasing 125, SunRisers Hyderabad had a very troublesome start as Mohammad Shami removed SRH captain Kane Williamson and star opener David Warner in his first two overs of the match.
SRH finished with 20/2 after 6 overs Manish Pandey and Wriddhiman Saha on the pitch. The team in orange managed to score just one boundary in the first powerplay.
Ravi Bishnoi gave a breakthrough to PBKS in the 8th over after he sent Manish Pandey (13) back to the pavilion. With boundaries in scarcity, the SRH score read just 43/3 after 10 overs as the required run rate (RRR) went past 8.
The 12th over was a relief for SRH as they collected 9 runs but Punjab pegged back in the next over as Ravi Bishnoi struck again to dismiss Kedar Jadhav on 12. Bishnoi in the same over removed Abdul Samad.
Jason Holder who came into bat at number 7, took matters into his hand as after scoring a six on Bishnoi in the 15th over, the big West Indian smashed two more sixes in Nathan Ellis' over to gather 16 runs in the 16th over.
Wridhhiman Saha was run out after a horrible mix-up on the first ball after the timeout. He walked back after scoring gutsy 31 off 37 balls.
With 21 needed from 12, it was still anybody's game. Arshdeep Singh then shifted the momentum towards PBKS after dismissing Rashid Khan on the very first bowl of the penultimate over. Arshdeep gave just 4 runs in that over.
Match came down to the wire in the last over of Nathan Ellis but the Australian held his nerves to bowl Punjab across the finish line.
Earlier, Jason Holder starred with the ball as SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) restricted Punjab Kings (PBKS) to 125/7 in their allotted twenty overs.
For SRH, Holder scalped three wickets and conceded just 19 runs in four overs. Rashid Khan, Abdul Samad, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Sandeep Sharma returned with one wicket each. For PBKS, Aiden Markram and KL Rahul played innings of 27 and 21 respectively.
Put in to bat first, PBKS had a horror start as they lost both their openers inside the first powerplay. Bowling his first over, Jason Holder removed KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal in the fifth over of the innings. Punjab skipper went back after scoring 21 off 21 balls while Mayank managed just 5.
After the first six over, Punjab's score read 29/2. Aiden Markram and Chris Gayle tried to regain the momentum by stabilising the innings of the team in red. With a couple of boundary-less over, PBKS moved to 55/2 after 10 overs.
Rashid Khan proved lethal with his spin, as he gave SRH a crucial breakthrough in the 11th over of the match. The Afghan player dismissed Gayle for 14 after trapping him in front of wickets for lbw.
In the very next over Nicholas Pooran walked back to the pavilion after hitting the first six of the night. Sandeep Sharma caught Pooran on his own knuckleball delivery.
Aiden Markram (27 off 32 balls) was sent back by Abdul Samad in the 15th over. Soon, Deepak Hooda (13) joined Markram in the dressing room, as Holder got his third wicket of the match.
Slower balls galore continued in death overs at Sharjah, as PBKS finished with a score of 125/7. Bhuvneshwar Kumar removed Nathan Ellis to get his first wicket of the match in the last over of PBKS' innings.
Brief Scores: Punjab Kings (Aiden Markram 27, KL Rahul 21; Jason Holder 3-19, Rashid Khan 1-17) vs SunRisers Hyderabad (Wriddhiman Saha 31, Jason Holder 47*; Ravi Bishnoi 3-24, Mohammad Shami 2-14). (ANI)