Hyderabad once again proved that they are the best side in defending the total because they have Rashid Khan who leads the entire bowling unit. In Thursday’s Dubai encounter, Punjab lost by 69 runs to send Hyderabad in top four.
Toss: Hyderabad opted to bat first
Team Changes: Khaleel Ahmed comes in (Hyderabad)
Prabhsimran, Arshdeep and Mujeeb Ur Rahman come in (Punjab)
Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Detailed Match Report
It was a good toss to win for Hyderabad and both openers gave a fluent start. First, Warner and Bairstow settled and later, they dominated over Punjab’s bowlers. Warner completed his 9th consecutive half-century against Punjab. Bairstow took the charge and almost got a ton, before going out on 97. After scoring 160 in 15 overs, Hyderabad lost all the rhythm as Bishnoi removed both openers in a single over. The middle-order collapsed but Williamson played some good shots to help Orange Army to get 201.
In the chase, one bad call cost Punjab Mayank Agarwal’s wicket and then, Hyderabad put pressure with picking regular wickets in middle-overs. Pooran was the only one who took Punjab’s hope with some fine shots but Rashid Khan got him out on 77 to break their hearts. Punjab bowled out on 132 and suffered huge 69 runs defeat in Dubai. Rashid Khan went for just 12 runs in his spell and picked three wickets. It was Punjab’s 5th defeat of the tournament and their playoff chances look quite difficult.
Star-performer of the match
Jonny Bairstow is our star performer of the match. He got a good start in the last three games but couldn’t convert it into big. English batsman scored 97 off 55 balls, including 7 fours and 6 sixes but missed a fine century. His knock took Hyderabad towards a strong total.
Top 5 players who made an impact in the game
Jonny Bairstow 97 (55)
David Warner 52 (40)
Ravi Bishnoi 4-0-29-3
Nicholas Pooran 77 (37)
Rashid Khan 4-1-12-3
