IPL 2021, PBKS vs SRH: Sunrisers Hyderabad finally open their account, beat Punjab Kings by nine wickets

Sunrisers Hyderabad secured their first win of IPL 2021 against Punjab Kings (IPL)

Sunrisers Hyderabad finally opened their account in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League as the team secured a resounding nine-wicket win against Punjab Kings in Chennai on Wednesday. Although it was an all-round effort by the Hyderabad unit, but it was seamer Khaleel Ahmed who laid the platform for SRH's fine win.

Khaleel's effort saw Punjab getting bundled out for a paltry 120 in 19.4 overs as he emerged as the standout performer from the SRH camp and went on to pick three wickets in his four-over quota.  

That's that from Match 14 as @SunRisers win by 9 wickets to register their first win in #VIVOIPL 2021.

Scorecard - https://t.co/gUuead0Gbx #PBKSvSRH pic.twitter.com/d91pWM2OHR — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 21, 2021

Punjab, who decided to bat first after winning the toss, maintained a cautious approach with openers KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal not taking risks in the first two overs. However, the move didn't pay any dividends for Punjab as they lost their skipper Rahul cheaply in the next over. 

After Rahul's dismissal, Mayank Agarwal was the next man to be removed. The batsman was dismissed by Khaleel on 22 off 25 balls, which also was the highest joint-total by a Punjab batsman in the contest. Apart from Mayank, young Shahrukh Khan also scored 22 from 17 deliveries before becoming Khaleel's third and final wicket of the night.  

Meanwhile, Nicholas Pooran, who is having a torrid season with the bat, was once again at the receiving end as an alert David Warner send the Windies man packing before he could even he start his innings. 

This was Pooran’s third duck in the ongoing edition apart from the 8-ball 9 against Delhi Capitals, making him the first player to be dismissed on a two-ball duck, one-ball duck and a duck without facing a single ball in the same season. 

In response, SRH got off to a great start with skipper David Warner leading from the front. Warner along with Jonny Bairstow added 73 runs for the opening wicket, before the Australian was dismissed by Fabien Allen on 37. 

However, Bairstow kept the momentum in SRH's favour and went on to complete his half-century. Together with Kane Williamson, the pair completed the paltry run-chase in 18.4 overs, with Bairstow remaining unbeaten on 63 off 56 balls, while the Kiwi scored 16 from 19 deliveries.