Hyderabad XI vs Punjab XI 37th Match at Sharjah, 25 Sep, 2021

Toss: Hyderabad , who chose to bowl
Punjab XI 125/7 (20)
Hyderabad XI 120/7 (20)
Punjab Kings won by 5 runs
Man of the Match: Jason Holder

    Over 18.4 Arshdeep Singh bowls it short of length to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, no run, gets back in the crease and tries to cut it away but it has simply no pace for him to do so. Misses

    Over 18.5 Arshdeep Singh bowls a back of length delivery to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 2 runs,  sits on the back foot and slaps it over extra cover. Would have been four on most days but the outfield has been slow

    Over 18.6 Arshdeep Singh bowls a pitched up delivery to Bhuvneshwar Kumar,1 run, gets forward and squeezes it out off the inside half to fine leg. Just a single

    Over 19.1 Nathan Ellis bowls a good length delivery to Bhuvneshwar Kumar,1 bye, gets forward and  slashes and misses, and then scampers across for the bye.

    Kane Williamson (SRH): The bowling unit, fielding unit did a fantastic job. Certainly the surface was a tough one. Required partnership and we were certainly backing ourselves to get close. It took a brilliant individual performance in both halfs from Jason Holder, especially with the bat to keep the match competitive. It's (SRH) a proud franchise, frustrating season. We do need to look for areas to improve. We try to learn from the first half of the game. Punjab tried to come out attacking like it usually happens in T20s. But playing shots was challenging. For us it was about looking to build platforms. It was quite a challenge to pounce on them without losing wickets.The games come thick and fast. We need to come to the next game with fresh eyes and freedom. We will try and put in the best. Smart cricket needs to be played with different surfaces.

    KL Rahul (PBKS): I hope so, we are playing some entertaining cricket and have been doing for the last two or three years, but I'll take the win. He (Holder) played exceedingly well. First with the ball, taking those two wickets in an over and then batted really well, on a track where it was difficult to play the big shots. We wanted to get another 20-30 more runs but we'll take the win. It gives us a belief that no matter what the situation is, our bowlers can get the opposition out if we get a decent score. Shami to start of, bowled really well, getting two big batters in Warner and Williamson. Made it easier for our spinners to settle into a nice line and length. Lesson for the batsmen would be to realise that it's not a 160-170 surface, if we had built a few partnerships, we could have got to 140-150. He (Harpreet) has been good for us, he can do everything. Has finished some games for us, also gives us control with the ball and great in the field. Everytime I go to him, he tells me 'Paaji (Brother) don't worry, I won't leak runs'. That's his attitude.

    Jason Holder is the Player of the Match