IPL 2023Rahul Tripathi, Mayank Markande guide SRH to season's first victory, beat Punjab by 8 wickets

By Kingshuk KusariSunRisers Hyderabad snatched their much-needed first win of the Indian Premier League 2023 season, defeating Punjab Kings by 8 wickets in Hyderabad on 9 April, Sunday. SRH debutant Mayank Markande, and batter Rahul Tripathi led the way in their respective departments, helping SRH to get out of the bottom of the table in their third match of the tournament.

IPL 2023, SRH vs PBKSAs it Happened

Hyderabad turned out in numbers on the night, despite the team’s terrible start to the IPL 2023 campaign and were treated with a classic SRH display, as they ran riot over the opposition batting order and then chased the target down in 17.1 overs of the game with 8 wickets remaining.

Debutant’s Magic

25-year-old Mayank Markande, playing his first match for the franchise weaved his magic with right-arm wrist spin and bagged the wickets of Sam Curran, Sarfaraz Khan, Rahul Chahar, and Nathan Ellis. What stood out was Markande’s ability to drag the batters out of their crease and bamboozling them with the change-up. Markande bowled four flat googlies to Curran and then induced a false edge with a slow leg spinner, which proved his cricketing acumen on the night.

IPL 2023Points Table

Markande’s spell did not let Punjab escape in the middle overs and restricted them to a below par total, despite Shikhar Dhawan’s brilliant 99* off 66 balls.

Tripathi Show Arrives

Rahul Tripathi had not been able to translate his previous IPL form into bigger things this year, first with India and then in the first two matches of the new season. After a couple of poor outings, Tripathi showed his full range of shots, and ability to adapt, hitting a stunning 74* off 48 balls, to guide the side home on Sunday. He found support from captain Aiden Markram who remained not out beside him for 37 off 21 balls.

Punjab Collapse

Earlier in te innings, Punjab Kings collapsed against the new ball attack of SunRisers Hyderabad, losing their top order inside the powerplay. New ball bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Marco Jansen struck in their first overs and sent back Prabhsimran Singh and PBKS debutant Matt Short.

Punjab never quite recovered after that and all their moves failed against a tight SRH bowling, led by another debutant in the game Mayank Markande. Markande’s wily bowling plans to draw out the batter and decieve them with his variety worked superbly well for SRH, as the spinner picked 4 wickets for just 15 runs from his 4 overs of the game.

Punjab were forced to bring in their Impact Sub in the first innings of the game – Sikandar Raza – in place of opener Prabhsimran Singh. Nothing seemed to work in their favour, despite Shikhar Dhawan standing tall from one side. Dhawan’s scored a riveting 99*, 69.2 per cent of the team’s total, helping Punjab get to a position of sustenance. If it were not for Dhawan and his ability to hide the final batter in the team, Punjab would have been wrapped up much before the final over of the innings.

Dhawan let Mohit Rathee (PBKS’s final batter) to face only 2 balls, while batting with him in from the 16th over of the game.

Learnings

Punjab Kings, who are already marred with multiple injuries in their squad would be ruing the fact that not a single batter could stand beside their captain and weather the storm. With SRH, showing lot of fidgetiness in the first two games, a decent total of 180+ would have had them in the game.

This game will be remembered for Shikhar Dhawan’s sensational 99*, where he carried the bat and took the team to a respectable position in the match. Dhawan as given the player of the match for his 66-ball innings. Dhawan’s innings would without a shadow of a doubt once again fuel fire to the idea of selecting him in the ODI World Cup 2023 squad. One has to concede that they might have a point.

While SRH have managed to drag themselves out of bottom place, questions remain on their stability. On the day, SRH opted for a fresh pair of openers, gave debuts to players, but like every team, they also would know that the trick lies in the stability. Too much chopping and changing would hurt the morale of the side.

SRH will next take on Kolkata Knight Riders on 14 April.