By K Aditya
Sharjah, Sep 25 (UNI), A three-wicket haul by Jason Holder helped Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) restrict Punjab Kings (PBKS) at 126/7 in bottom-two clash of the IPL 2021 here on Saturday.
Playing on a slow surface, none of the PBKS batsmen managed to go past the 30-run mark with Aiden Markram (27 runs off 32 balls) top scoring for the side. For SRH, Sandeep Sharma, Bhuvneswar Kumar, Rashid Khan, Abdul Samad picked a wicket apiece apart from Holder's 3/19.
Sent in to bat first, KL Rahul gained Punjab early momentum with 21 runs in as many balls, helping the scoreboard move to 26 runs in four overs. However, after a double blow by Jason Holder in the fifth over to Punjab, saw the scoreboard change to 27/2.
Rahul was the first to go after mistiming his shot to substitute fielder Suchith. Mayank Agarwal followed three balls later after scoring just five runs in six balls.
Chris Gayle and Aiden Markram added 30 runs for the third wicket but their struggle to find boundaries and playing as many as 12 dots in the partnership meant only 55 runs were added to the board by the end of 10th over.
Gayle's (14 off 17) misery was finally ended by Rashid Khan, who had him trapped lbw. He was followed soon by fellow West Indies batsman Nicholas Pooran (8 off 4), who was caught and bowled by Sandeep Sharma (1/20).
Wickets kept on falling in regular intervals as Markram (27 off 32) too failed to accelerate PBKS innings and was dismissed by Abdul Samad (1/9) in the 15th over. PBKS scoreboard at that point read an unconvincing 88/5.
Eight runs later, SRH pacer Holder hunted down his third victim of the night in Deepak Hooda, who managed a 10-ball 13.
Tailenders Harpreet Brar (18* off 18) and Nathan Eli's (12 off 12) added crucial 29 runs in the last four overs to take PBKS to a below-par 125/7 in 20 overs.
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