Punjab Kings’ fielding boots never really turned up in Hyderabad, and Sunrisers walked away with a 33-run win that also nudged them to the top of the IPL standings.
Sunrisers piled up 235 for 4, a total inflated – in Shreyas Iyer’s own words – by chances shelled in the deep and a missed stumping that summed up PBKS’s evening. “We dropped too many catches,” the captain admitted afterwards. A blunt verdict, but hard to argue with when three straightforward offerings and a regulation stumping all slipped by.
“I think it was a bit too much because we dropped many catches at the start, and we could have easily [reduced] their score by 30-40 runs. I guess because the wicket kept getting slower and the cutters were holding up a bit. So, we weren’t comprehensive enough on the field, nor in bowling, nor in batting. So, I think they played comprehensive cricket and they showed us how to win the match.”
Key moment? Probably the seventh over, when Aiden Markram – still looking for rhythm – sliced one to third man only for Lockie Ferguson to put it down. Markram went on to 68 off 34. There were two more blemishes in the next four overs and by then the damage was done.
Yuzvendra Chahal, again, was left cursing thin air. One drop and one missed stumping fell off his bowling inside five balls. The leg-spinner has now had eight of 16 genuine chances grassed this season – a catching efficiency of 50%, the poorest among bowlers who have created at least four chances. “[Chahal] bowled beautifully today without luck,” Iyer said. “Certainly, the way he bowled, he was fearless and his attitude was fantastic against left-handers… I asked him to be attacking, especially when the new batsmen were in, because they were on the charge right from ball one. And it was crucial to get wickets at that point of time. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to take catches. I think that was the biggest setback for us in today’s game.”
PBKS’s chase never really threatened, though Cooper Connolly refused to pack it in. The left-hander’s unbeaten 107 from 59 balls – his maiden professional century – kept a lopsided scoreboard respectable. “I mean, he’s phenomenal,” Iyer said. “His mindset is top-notch and the character he brings onto the field. It’s something that all the players can learn from him. Apart from that, I feel that he’s got a knack of scoring big runs in pressure situations. He has done it in the past and today was the right example.”
The Kings have now lost three on the bounce, yet a five-day gap offers space to reset before Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala on 11 May. Perspective, and maybe a few extra slip-catching drills, seem high on the agenda. “We [have] got to go back and reflect on things that we didn’t do well in the last three matches. And see to it that we come back strong,” the skipper added.
Fielding woes acknowledged, PBKS know the fix is mostly in their own hands – and occasionally in their own fingertips.
