It was a saga of dropped catches and half chances that saw Sunrisers Hyderabad annihilate Punjab Kings by 8 wickets in Hyderabad on Saturday, April 12, 2025.
The man who recieved presents in abundance on the night was SRH Opener Abhishek Sharma (143 off 55 balls), who got three reprieves and made most of the 'lives' to go hammer and tongs and help his team overhaul a massive 245 for 6 on a flatbed.
The target could have been a lot more than 245 but for the two catches held on to send back Prabhsimran Singh and later at the death to dismiss Shreyas Iyer.
Priyash Arya and Prabhsimran gave Punjab a rollicking start. It was raining fours and sixes as PBKS raced to 66 before the former was trapped LBW.
Not in the least affected by the loss of his partner, Prabhsimran went along in his merry ways, this time in partnership with his skipper Shreyas Iyer.
Unfettered and in the zone, Prabhsimran kept the momentum going with fours and sixes flying off his blade.
Iyer then got in the act and off the last ball of the Powerplay overs, Iyer's six meant his team were 89 for 1 in 6 overs.
But SRH's script was changed when debutant Eshan Malinga was brought in the attack. A bowler, low on experience but heavy on skill, mixed his deliveries in his opening over and eventually set up the dismissal.
He bowled a short one around off and Prabhsimran slapped it towards mid-off as Pat Cummins took a sharp low catch to send back the big hitter for a well-made 42 off 23 balls.
Iyer then stepped on the pedal and found a boundary or a maximum almost every other over.
Just an over before his dismissal he had clobbered Malinga for fours. Punjab would have loved for Iyer to stay till the end and hit some thumping maximums.
But he was removed in the 18th over, handing the catch to Travis Head at backward point. It was one of the most important 50s from a captain thus far this season, and his presence would have propelled Punjab to a bigger total.
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