Trent Boult took three wickets for 19 runs to help Sunrisers Hyderabad to defend a modest 150-run total and register a 20-run victory against Kings XI Punjab in their IPL match at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium in Mohali on Monday.
Chasing a 151-run target, Punjab managed 130/9 in their 20 overs with wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha playing a lone hand of a 33-ball 42 that went in vain. Boult dismissed Axar Patel (17) and Saha in his last over that proved to be crucial breakthroughs.
Boult was ably aided by Bhuvneshwar Kumar who took 2/23 as Hyderabad bowlers showed resolve and determination to enable the visitors win a key encounter.
Boult and Bhuvneshwar took a wicket apiece with the new ball to put Punjab in a spot of bother as Karn Sharma and Moises Henriques backed them up by bowling with good control.
Earlier, captain and opener David Warner top-scored with a 41-ball 58 as Sunrisers Hyderabad managed a modest 150/6. Ashish Reddy smashed 22 off eight balls towards the end with the help of two last-over sixes, helping Sunrisers reach the 150-mark.
Sent into bat, Hyderabad were off to a poor start with Shikhar Dhawan falling to pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson with just 10 runs on the board after Sandeep Sharma bowled a maiden opening over.
Punjab skipper George Bailey opted to bowl first as the pitch had a good amount of grass on it, and his bowlers responded by producing a disciplined show. Punjab, who dropped veteran Virender Sehwag after a run of poor scores in their first home game of the season, ensured that the Sunrisers batsmen didn't get easy runs in this crucial encounter between the two bottom-placed teams. Glenn Maxwell, too, missed out yet again on finding a place in the playing XI.
Young left-arm spinner Axar Patel was the best bowler for Punjab, returning impressive figures of 2/25, while Johnson picked up two wickets for 39 runs. Apart from Warner, Moises Henriques (30) and Naman Ojha (28) were the other contributors for the visiting side, which struggled to cut loose.
Warner found the fence 10 times and cleared it once during his stay in the middle.
Though Warner added 46 runs for the second wicket with Hanuma Vihari and Henriques had a 45-run fourth-wicket stand with, they were not big enough to trouble the home team that had the crowd behind them.
Part-time bowler Murali Vijay bowled a tidy three-over spell, conceding just 16 runs, and that made things worse for Sunrisers. Anureet Singh, too, was economical as he gave away 27 runs in his full spell, including five runs in the innings' penultimate over.
