PBKS vs. SRH IPL2024: The Punjab Kings have added a lethal combination to their batting arsenal in the form of small-town lads Shashank Singh from Bhilai and Ashutosh Sharma from Ratlam.
Mullanpur: On Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Mohali, Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Punjab Kings’ Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma ran between the wickets during the game.
Even after 19 overs, 29 runs were still required in the final 6 deliveries, thus it was still a very difficult ask. The Shashank and Ashutosh show from five days ago was requested by Punjab fans to be repeated. At that point, the hitherto unidentified combination entered the game and left their mark on the match. At Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, the duo crushed the Gujarat Titans and stole the show. While Ashutosh hit a rapid 31 off just 17 balls, Shashank amassed an undefeated 61 off 29 balls with four sixes and six boundaries.
Before the balls ran out on Tuesday, the pair blasted 27 runs in the final over. After hitting six fours and one six in 46 of his 21 deliveries, Shashank was still undefeated. With three fours and two sixes at 33 of 15, Ashutosh was also not out. Their respective strike rates during the match—Shashank finished with 184 and Ashutosh with 220—give an idea of their potency.
On Tuesday, they came painfully close to defeating Hyderabad, ultimately losing by only two runs to secure a tie. With the addition of Ashutosh Sharma from Ratlam and Shashank Singh from Bhilai to their little village, the Punjab Kings have added a lethal batting combination to their repertoire.
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Punjab catch 8 to lose, Sunrisers drop 4 to win
It was the third over of the Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) and Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) 23rd over in the 2024 Indian Premier League. Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, the first-choice batsmen, had already amassed 27 runs, setting the stage for another massive score for the SRH. Head had hit four fours in a quick twenty-one balls in a row. Mistimed, Arshdeep Singh arrived fully and outside of Head, searching for a big one. Shikhar Dhawan, the captain of PBKS, sprinted backward to make an incredibly difficult yet magnificent catch as the ball shot into the air.
In cricket, there is an adage that states, “Catches win matches.” During the CSK-KKR game on Monday, April 8, in the IPL 2024, Ravindra Jadeja accomplished the remarkable achievement of catching a century of balls. After the game, when asked about his 100 catches, the poster boy—who is known for seemingly catching balls—said he doesn’t keep track of them. He does, however, make them matter. But that was not the case in Mohali the very next day, as spectacular catches were made and easy ones missed, none of which mattered in the exciting match’s end.
In the last ball of the 4th over, there was another brilliant catch. Shashank Singh took a forward dive to dismiss Abhishek Sharma, who was on 16 of 11 balls.
In the Punjab innings, Abdul Samad dropped Shikhar Dhawan at slips, a straight and easy catch, but no harm was done as Dhawan was quickly stumped 2 balls later by Heinrich Klaasen. In the 9th over Sam Curran was on 29 of 22 balls and looking good when he hit a T Natarajan delivery hard. The ball was flying over the mid-off rope when SRH captain Pat Cummins got in its way. Even for someone as tall as Cummins it was a long shot but flinging himself at full stretch and to his left, he took a great catch.
The blundering for SRH started in the final moments of the match when the catching cliché almost came true, but in reverse – ‘missing catches cost matches.’. It could have been a Punjab victory because of the 3 catches that Hyderabad dropped. Bowling the last over Jaydev Unadkat saw Nitish Reddy, Abdul Samad, and Rahul Tripathy drop catches at mid-wicket, long-off and deep square, even nudging 2 over the rope for sixes.
The old catching cliché did not come true in Mohali because dropping sitters did not lose the match for SRH. Another proof that at the IPL anything can happen, and nothing is a cliché till the last ball gets bowled.
