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How can SRH turn it around from here? (3:42)
Ambati Rayudu and Ian Bishop talk about Abhishek’s form, if anything is missing in GT’s line-up, and more (3:42)
Apr 12, 2025, 12:28 PM ET
Punjab Kings 245 for 6 (Shreyas 82, Prabhsimran 42, Harshal 4-42) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
A peerless 36-ball 82 from Shreyas Iyer, an early turbocharge from Priyansh Arya that brought him 36 off just 13 balls in a 66-run opening stand with Prabhsimran Singh were the key drivers in another dominating batting performance from Punjab Kings (PBKS) against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2025 in Uppal.
PBKS threatened to blaze past 250 halfway into the innings, but then appeared to fall well short of that mark at one point as Harshal Patel picked up the big wickets of Iyer and Glenn Maxwell in a gun 18th over – he finished with 4 for 42.
Then Marcus Stoinis, who hadn’t made much of an impact with the bat until Saturday, got stuck into Mohammed Shami, hitting him for four consecutive sixes in the final over that went for 27 as PBKS finished with 245 for 6.
Shami’s 4-0-75-0 is the most expensive spell by an Indian bowler – and the second-most expensive spell overall – in the IPL. This meant SRH needed to pull off the second-highest run chase in IPL history to break their sequence of four straight losses in IPL 2025.
PBKS had raised their fifty in just three overs – the joint-fastest with RCB in IPL 2025 – courtesy the openers. Prabhsimran hit Shami for three back-to-back fours in his first over, and Arya followed suit when he nonchalantly flicked Cummins for six in his first.
Harshal, generally used at the death, was brought on early to try and stem the run flow, and he delivered in his very first over when he had Arya hack an offcutter to the longer leg-side boundary with Nitish Reddy taking the skier at mid-on. At the other end, Eshan Malinga gave a good account of himself on IPL debut, picking up an early wicket by removing Prabhsimran, shortly after he was dropped by Abhishek Sharma at extra cover on 38.
Eshan showed versatility by bowling 140kph and also dropping his pace. He also bowled reverse-swinging yorkers to Iyer, who looked in imperious form. Pulling, cutting and hitting spinners on the rise, and clearing the boundaries effortlessly, Iyer brought up a 22-ball fifty, his fastest in the IPL.
Iyer made the most of a reprieve on 42 when legspinner Zeeshan Ansari was unlucky to not have him caught at long-off, where Abhishek misjudged a catch and came too far in, before running back to catch, only to palm the ball over.
Iyer put together 73 off just 40 balls with Nehal Wadhera, who used the arcs behind square to good effect during his 27, before he was lbw to Malinga who finished with 2 for 45 in his four overs.
Shashank Singh’s promotion ahead of a struggling Maxwell didn’t pay off as Harshal had him lbw, before Maxwell and Iyer also fell in his final over. Stoinis then muscled four sixes to give them the momentum they seemed to have lost earlier at the death.
