MALLANPUR, India: Sunrisers Hyderabad pulled off a dramatic two-run win over Punjab Kings despite dropping three catches in the final over on Tuesday in the Indian Premier League.
Needing 29 off Jaydev Unadkat’s final six balls, Punjab nearly went over the line when Ashutosh Sharma (33 not out) was thrice dropped in the deep with two resulting in sixes before the home team finished at 180-6.
Earlier, 20-year-old Nitesh Kumar Reddy hit his maiden T20 half-century and anchored Hyderabad to 182-9 with a 37-ball knock of 64 after Punjab won the toss and elected to field in its second home game of the season.
Punjab’s top-order fell apart against pace as Jonny Bairstow’s struggling IPL season continued when the Englishman got clean bowled by Pat Cummins for zero while attempting a shot across the line.
Wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen’s decision to come up to the wicket against Bhuvneshwar Kumar was rewarded when he got Shikhar Dhawan (14) stumped a ball after the Punjab skipper was dropped in the slip and the home team slipped to 20-3 in the fourth over.
Sam Curran (29) was brilliantly snapped by diving Cummins and Sikandar Raza (28) couldn’t convert a good start before falling to Unadkat in the 14th over.
Shashank Singh, who made unbeaten 46 off 25 balls, and Sharma countercharged in the last three overs, but despite smacking Unadkat for 26 runs they couldn’t take their team home.
Earlier, Hyderabad lost three wickets inside the batting power play for the first time this season with Arshdeep Singh (4-29) dismissing Travis Head (21) and Aiden Markram (0) in one over and Abhishek Sharma (16) getting caught in the covers while driving uppishly against Curran.
Hyderabad used its impact substitute inside the batting powerplay but Rahul Tripathi tried to uppercut Harshal Patel’s (2-30) short ball and was caught behind for 11. Patel also had the key wicket of Klaasen, who was caught on the edge of long-off boundary by Curran, but Reddy’s aggression in the last six overs lifted Hyderabad’s total.
Reddy smacked spinner Harpreet Brar (0-48) for 22 runs in his final over but got a life soon after completing his half-century off 32 balls when Singh dropped a sitter at mid-wicket.
Arshdeep Singh returned and claimed two more wickets in one over for the second time in the innings as Reddy holed out at long-off off a low full toss and Abdul Samad (25) was caught at deep backward point.
Punjab conceded a vital six runs off the final ball when Patel palmed the ball over the fence at long-on as Unadkat attempted a big hit against Curran’s slower and those runs eventually cost the home team in the end.
Hyderabad broke into top five with six points from five games while Punjab is at No. 6 with two wins and three defeats.
Hyderabad beats Punjab by 2 runs in IPL despite dropping 3 catches in final over
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Hyderabad beats Punjab by 2 runs in IPL despite dropping 3 catches in final over
- Needing 29 off Jaydev Unadkat’s final six balls, Punjab nearly went over the line when Ashutosh Sharma (33 not out) was thrice dropped in the deep with two resulting in sixes before finishing at 180-6
- 20-year-old Nitesh Kumar Reddy hit his maiden T20 half-century and anchored Hyderabad to 182-9 with a 37-ball knock of 64 after Punjab won the toss and elected to field
Sweden’s Ekstrom takes Dakar stage seven win in Saudi Arabia
- Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah stays top in the car category
WADI AL-DAWASI: Mattias Ekstrom won stage seven of the Dakar Rally on Sunday as the field started the second week in Saudi Arabia with late drama for Toyota’s Henk Lategan while Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah stayed top in the car category.
South African Lategan had looked like taking the stage and overall lead but let both slip through his fingers after the day’s final checkpoint.
Instead, Sweden’s Ekstrom, winner of the prologue in a Ford Raptor, became the first driver in the top car category to take more than one stage this year.
Lategan had led Ekstrom after 417 of 459km from Riyadh to Wadi Al-Dawasir, but finished eight minutes and 35 seconds behind the winner after having to stop for 10 minutes at the 428km mark.
Ekstrom moved up to second overall, four minutes and 47 seconds behind Dacia Sandriders’ five-times Dakar winner Al-Attiyah with Lategan third.
Spaniard Nani Roma was fourth for Ford after being reinstated by stewards late on Saturday’s rest day as winner of stage five and having a one minute and 10 second penalty rescinded.
In the motorcycle category, Australian Daniel Sanders extended his lead over American rival Ricky Brabec to four minutes and 25 seconds with Argentine rider Luciano Benavides a further 15 seconds adrift.
Sanders had been a mere 45 seconds clear after Friday’s sixth stage but Honda’s Brabec finished the 459km stage 10th to the Australian’s fourth.
Argentine Benavides won the stage, his second triumph of the event, in a one-two for the Red Bull KTM factory team with Spaniard Edgar Canet, while Honda’s French challenger Adrien Van Beveren was third.
Monday’s 481km stage eight is the longest of the race with riders and drivers navigating canyons and dunes around Wadi Ad Dawasir.
