The recovering bowlers of Kings XI Punjab must have wondered at the end of the 15th over of the innings of Sunrisers Hyderabad, conveniently bookended by the strategic timeout, what they were doing wrong. So far, they had not only gone wicketless on the night (with SRH scoring 160 unbeaten runs) but for precisely one week in all. Yeah, you read that correctly—no wickets for one week.
October 1 was the last time KXIP took a wicket, and the player to leave then was Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma. MI scored 67 runs in the remaining 23 balls which Punjab bowled after Sharma’s dismissal. Then, over the weekend, the Chennai Super Kings defeated Punjab by ten wickets, scoring 181 runs in 104 balls along the way. Combine all that for a total of 407 runs with Thursday’s then unbeaten 160-run stand among SRH openers and Punjab had not taken a wicket.
So, what’s been wrong with the wicket-takers at KXIP? Probably, nothing. KXIP took five wickets in the span of the next 19 balls after going completely wicketless for a duration of 37 overs spread over three separate matches and even a sixth by the end of the innings. At the same time, SRH, which at one point threatened a total of 250, barely scraped past 200; this was some of those most extraordinary acts of defiance by a bowling side in this IPL.
The resistance started with the unexpected hurdle of Ravi Bishnoi, a 19-year-old leggie. Until then, Bishnoi had been quickly clubbed by Jonny Bairstow for two sixes and a four and had gone for 18 runs in his only over. It was a bold decision for Captain KL Rahul to bring back the teen with five overs to go at 160 for no harm, but what do they mean about significant risks and rewards?
David Warner misinterpreted a Bishnoi googly after the first ball after the strategic timeout and locked out for 52. Bairstow twisted the teenager’s slider two balls later and was LBW at 97. This miraculous over firmly swung the way of Punjab’s innings.
But, despite plenty of assistance from Nicholas Pooran, even miracles could not support bottom-placed Punjab during their chase. Pooran also saw him steal the record for fastest-ever IPL fifty (16 balls) along the way with his breathtaking knock of 77.
The night had been all about Bairstow until Pooran’s Pyro. Bairstow was more than relaxed playing right cricket shots, unlike Pooran, who relied heavily on muscling the spinners over ropes (the West Indian wheeled seven sixes from his first 16 balls). The accuracy of the shot depended entirely on whether or not it cleared the rope. Bairstow’s very first boundary had been a crisp cover drive off a Mujeeb Ur Rahman full-toss to highlight this point.
Seven overs later, from Bairstow’s maiden six of a night, it was again the pacing of the stroke that stood out. He danced down the wicket to kill the spin of Bishnoi, and simply stroked the ball across the midwicket fence. On Bairstow’s heavily tapped bat, a violent thump through covers off the next ball had such a final straw impact. Ostensibly, in the process of this IPL, this beloved piece of wood not only helped him score three fifties but also turned around an English season, which saw him lose his test contract with a hundred in the final ODI.
With the new willow, Bairstow wasn’t as responsive. Bairstow walloped Bishnoi from the very first ball he faced beyond the roof of the Dubai International Stadium and took him to 47 runs. Bishnoi will exact his vengeance, three runs shy of Bairstow’s bigger 100 run milestone.
Brief scores: SRH 201/6 (R Bishnoi 3/29, A Singh 2/33; D Warner 52, J Bairstow 97). (N Pooran 77; R Khan 3/12) KXIP 132 all out. By 69 runs, SRH won the match.
