One team has finally been able to test the Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers and that is the Ashwin-led Kings XI Punjab. A team that has a scorned Chris Gayle in their side was solid enough to get the better of the opponents’ bowlers.

Winning the toss, KXIP chose to bat first. Gayle opened the innings along with Lokesh Rahul who had an unlikely defensive approach in his game and got out scoring 18 off 21. The Caribbean, however, was in his typical IPL smash-the-ball-mood and clubbed a magnificent century.

The southpaw remained unbeaten on 104 runs facing 63 deliveries. His innings was laced with 11 sixes and a boundary.

Mayank Agarwal and Karun Nair also contributed to the total with their innings of 18 and 31 runs, respectively.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the most economical bowler for SRH allowing 25 runs in 4 overs while taking a wicket as well. Rashid Khan and Siddharth Kaul also bagged one wicket apiece with the former conceding 55 runs in 4 overs.

KXIP registered a total of 193 runs and SRH will have their work cut out to chase down the mammoth total set by KXIP.

In response, SRH never got close to emerge as a real threat to the opponents. Shikhar Dhawan retired hurt before opening his run account. Wriddhiman Saha also failed to stand firm for his team and returned to the pavilion scoring 6 runs as Mohit Sharma bowled him out.

Mohit later dismissed Yusuf Pathan on 19 runs. However, Kane Williamson and Manish Pandey tried to salvage some pride for their team by picking up a half-century each. Williamson fell victim to Andrew Tye on 54. The same bowler also dismissed Deepak Hooda on 5 runs.

Manish remained not out on 59 runs alongside Shakib Al Hasan who made 24 off 12.

SRH lost the match by 15 runs and will face Chennai Super Kings in their next match on April 22. KXIP will take on Kolkata Knight Riders to decide the league-leader on Saturday.

 

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