On the eve of the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad here, Kings XI Punjab pacer Ankit Rajpoot had said that he does not feel out of place while sharing the dressing room filled with seniors like Chris Gayle and Ravichandran Ashwin. (HIGHLIGHTS)
On Thursday, the 24-year-old pacer proved he truly belonged to the dressing room. With a match haul of 5/14 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he jolted the hosts and silenced the crowd. (SCORECARD)
It was only after two crucial stands that Manish Pandey was part of, with Shakib Al Hasan and Yusuf Pathan, that Sunrisers Hyderabad reached 132/6 in 20 overs.
Rajpoot’s first wicket came in the opening over when he got Sunrisers captain Kane Williamson, who is also their top run-getter. The Uttar Pradesh lad generated bounce that took the Kiwi player by surprise. He attempted a pull but it landed in the hands of Ravichandran Ashwin at mid-off.
READ | Manish Pandey fifty helps Sunrisers Hyderabad reach 132/6 vs Kings XI Punjab
If Williamson’s wicket was not enough to sap the energy out of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajpoot got their other opener Shikhar Dhawan in the third over. Again it was the bounce that deceived the batsman. Dhawan edged the away-moving ball to Karun Nair at the slips.
{{/usCountry}}If Williamson’s wicket was not enough to sap the energy out of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajpoot got their other opener Shikhar Dhawan in the third over. Again it was the bounce that deceived the batsman. Dhawan edged the away-moving ball to Karun Nair at the slips.
{{/usCountry}}Rajpoot came back in the fifth over to scalp Wriddhiman Saha in the fifth ball. The wicketkeeper-batsman’s attempted a terrible slog and was caught by Andrew Tye at mid-off.
Rajpoot would have got his fourth wicket in the same over too, had Tye not dropped Manish Pandey at mid-off.
After Rajpoot’s initial spell, SRH went into a cocoon. There was a period of six over where no boundary was scored.
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Pandey and Shakib took no chances during their 54-ball 52 run stand. It was only after Shakib departed that the upped the ante. He went after Ravichandran Ashwin in the 16th over and hit the match’s first six.
Then he went to score his half-century in the 19th over while being involved in a 49-run stand with Pathan. However, he also fell to Rajpoot in the 20th over as the pacer bowled him with a perfect yorker.
Rajpoot completed his five wicket haul on the last ball as he got Mohammed Nabi’s wicket.