Sunrisers Hyderabad registered their first win of the season as they beat Punjab Kings by 8 wickets in Match 14 of TATA IPL 2023 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

A collective bowling performance led by Mayank Markande (4/15) saw SRH restrict PBKS to 143/9. Shikhar Dhawan played a splendid fighting knock of 99*(63). But it wasn't enough as Rahul Tripathi played a brilliant counter-attacking knock of 74* off 48 balls to chase the target down with 17 balls to spare.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Marco Jansen set the platform as they ripped through the PBKS top order inside the Powerplay. Markande and Umran Malik carried forward the momentum in the middle overs and scythed through the middle and lower middle order before Dhawan dragged PBKS to a respectable 143/9.

Chasing 144, openers Mayank Agarwal and Harry Brook got SRH off to a brisk start as they hit six fours in the first 20 balls. Arshdeep was hit for four of those six fours but he bounced back hard by cleaning up Brook (13 off 14) with the knuckle ball.

PBKS could have had a second wicket in the next over but keeper Jitesh Sharma put down a tough catch of Rahul Tripathi off the bowling of Nathan Ellis. The PBKS bowlers pulled things back conceding just seven runs off the next two overs as SRH reached 34/1 at the end of the Powerplay.

Two more tight overs followed. The pressure was built and it resulted in a wicket as Mayank Agarwal (21 off 20) went for a big one but miscued it to long on.

Tripathi then changed the course of the match with a stunning counter-attack. He released the pressure as he cut a couple of balls behind square for consecutive fours off Chahar in the same over. He then took the attack to Harpreet Brar, hitting three consecutive fours as SRH reached 67/2 at the end of 10 overs. Tripathi continued the momentum as he cracked two more fours off Chahar to accumulate 11 runs off the 11th over. Tripathi brought up his fifty, off 35 balls, with a six straight down the ground off Mohit Rathee. The fifty-run stand also came up between Tripathi and Markram, off just 29 balls.

With 47 needed off 36, Markram and Tripathi took on Mohit and hit him for three fours and a six to bring the equation down to 26 off 30. It was a cruise from then on as Markram hit four fours off Eliis and then Tripathi finished it off with another four to win the match by 8 wickets.

Tripathi remained unbeaten on 74 off 48 balls, while Markram remained not out on 37 off 21 balls as the pair stitched a match-winning 100-run stand off 52 balls.

Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Aiden Markram won the toss and opted to bowl. They made three changes to the side as Heinrich Klassen, Marco Jansen, Mayank Markande replaced Adil Rashid, Anmolpreet Singh and Abdul Samad. They named Mayank Dagar, Upendra Yadav, Glenn Phillips, Akeal Hosein and Abdul Samad as their substitutes. PBKS made two changes to the side as debutant Matthew Short and Mohit Rathee replaced Bhanuka Rajapaksa (Injured) and Sikandar Raza in the side. They named Sikandar Raza, Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet Bhata, Atharva Taide and Rishi Dhawan as their substitutes.

The SRH pacers provided a perfect start for the team as Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck off the first ball of the innings, trapping Prabhsimran Singh LBW. Marco Jansen too made an impact in his first over as he trapped debutant Matthew Short LBW for one and nearly had another wicket off the next ball as the umpire raised his finger on the LBW appeal against Jitesh Sharma but the batter reviewed it and replays showed it was missing leg.

Dhawan hit a couple of fours off Bhuvneshwar to make sure the pressure didn't build up. But PBKS lost Jitesh Sharma in the next over as he hit one straight to mid off in the fourth over, off Jansen.

Shikhar Dhawan and Sam Curran then steadied the ship and added 41 off 30 balls. Curran hit Jansen for a six and a four as PBKS reached 41/3 at the end of the Powerplay. The duo took 28 runs off the next three overs. But Mayank Markande broke the stand in his first over, dismissing Curran for 22(15). One brought two as Umran Malik had Impact Player Sikandar Raza, who replaced Prabhsimran Singh, caught at third man to reduce PBKS to 69/5. And then three as Markande trapped Shahrukh Khan LBW with a brilliant googly.

Umran breathed fire as he cleaned up Harpreet Brar in his next over as PBKS lost four wickets in four overs. Umran could have had Rahul Chahar in the same over but the keeper wasn't able to hold on to a tough chance down the leg side. The wickets continued to tumble as Markande trapped Rahul Chahar LBW with another googly. The batter reviewed it unsuccessfully. All this while, Dhawan was stranded at the other end, watching the carnage unfold. And while he neared his half-century he saw another one depart as Markande cleaned up Nathan Ellis with the wrong'un as he missed his reverse sweep. Markande finished with splendid figures of 4-0-15-4.

Dhawan then farmed the strike and got to his fifty in style with a six over deep mid-wicket off T Natarajan. He then scooped the next one over fine leg for back to back sixes. The PBKS captain then took the attack to Umran, hitting him for two sixes and a four in the 18th over to take PBKS past 120. Dhawan moved into the 90s with a couple of fours against Bhuvneshwar as they fetched nine runs off the penultimate over. He finished it off in style with a six off the last ball of the innings, off Natarajan to drag PBKS to 143/9.

Dhawan missed out on his century by one run as he remained unbeaten on 99 off 66 balls with 12 fours and five sixes to his name.