It can be a bit daunting to come as an underdog on your own home ground. For Sunrisers Hyderabad, having suffered a thrashing by Rajasthan Royals in the ‘City of Nizams’ in their season opener, there were mixed feelings. While the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium was drenched in orange, SRH skipper Aiden Markram knew that it won’t be easy to beat Punjab Kings that have 100 per cent success rate in IPL 2023.
But all this changed when Rahul Tripathi hit a four to open SRH’s account in IPL 2023 with a stunning win. With Sunday’s victory, SRH are now on number 7 while Delhi Capitals are at the bottom of the points table. Earlier in the day, during match 13, Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Gujarat Titans in unbelievable way. It was chasers’ day in the IPL. So, with SRH beating PBKS and KKR defeating GT, now, there’s no side that can claim an unbroken winning streak. All teams have lost one game each.
Markram’s decision to send PBKS to bat first was proven right in the very first delivery when veteran player Bhuneshwar Kumar sent back PBKS opener Prabhsimaran Singh. He scored maiden half-century in Guwahati during the match against Rajasthan Royals. But no luck for young Singh in Hyderabad. Then Marco Jansen and Mayank Markande destroyed the PBKS batting lineup. At one point in the match, it seemed that the SRH bowlers would restrict PBKS at sub-100 total.
It was only for one man, PBKS skipper Shikhar Dhawan that the team was able to post a triple-digital total. Dhawan was 99 (not out) as he kept the momentum going even as he saw the wickets tumbling. After the match, Dhawan said that the PBKS batters didn’t play the game well today. Blaming them for the loss, the skipper said that they lost too many wickets in quick intervals and were never really in the game for a big total.
On the other hand, winning captain Aiden Markram called it a ‘special win.’ He also praised Markande for his superb spell.
