A fabulous counter-attacking knock of 64(37) from Nitish Kumar Reddy helped Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) edge Punjab Kings (PBKS) in a thriller after surviving a late scare at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur.

Reddy helped SRH recover from 39/3 as he added a blistering 50-run stand off just 20 balls with Abdul Samad to power SRH to a competitive 182/9. The visitors then survived a late blitz from Shashank Singh (46* off 25) and Ashutosh Sharma (33* off 15) as Jaydev Unadkat held his nerve to defend 29 off the last over.

Defending 183, SRH got off to a brilliant start, picking up three wickets inside the Powerplay. Captain Pat Cummins struck first as he castled Jonny Bairstow in the second over. Bhuvneshwar then struck twice as he dismissed Impact Player Prabhsimran Singh and PBKS captain Shikhar Dhawan via a splendid stumping from Heinrich Klaasen, who was standing up to the stumps. PBKS were reduced to 27/3 in the Powerplay. 

𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘅 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗯 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗲𝘀 ⚡️

Relive Heinrich Klaasen's brilliant piece of stumping 😍👐

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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 9, 2024

Sikandar Raza and Sam Curran then got together and steadied the ship with a 38-run stand, but the hosts lost Curran (29 off 22) at a crucial juncture as Cummins pulled off a superb running catch at mid off, off T Natarajan.

Keeps his eyes on the ball ✅
Times his jump to perfection ✅
Takes a stunning catch ✅

That was some grab from @SunRisers captain @patcummins30 👏 👏

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Raza and Shashank Singh started the resurrection again with a 33-run stand, but SRH made sure this partnership too didn't last long as Jaydev Unadkat struck straight after time-out to dismiss Raza (28 off 22).

SRH kept picking wickets at regular intervals as the required run rate kept rising. With 67 needed off 24, Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma unleashed some powerful strokes, hitting seven fours off the next three overs to bring the equation to 29 needed off six balls. 

The dramatic last over had it all. Ashutosh Singh smashed the first ball of the last over from Jaydev Unadkat to deep mid-wicket where Nitish parried it over the ropes as he leaped in the air to take the catch. Unadkat bowled two wides off the next two balls to make it eight off the first ball of the final over. Ashutosh then smashed the next ball to long off where Samad didn't time his jump well and the ball burst through his hands for a six. The next one was a slower bouncer, and Ashotosh pulled it to deep mid-wicket for a brisk two to bring it down to 13 needed off 3. Another slower bouncer followed, and the result was the same: a couple of runs to deep mid-wicket. 

A Fantastic Finish 🔥

Plenty happened in this nail-biter of a finish where the two teams battled till the end🤜🤛

Relive 📽️ some of the drama from the final over ft. Jaydev Unadkat, Ashutosh Sharma & Shashank Singh 👌

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With 11 needed off 2, Unadkat bowled another WIDE. There was another drop next ball as Ashutosh swung a slower one to deep square leg, where Rahul Tripathi put one down. That made it 9 required off the last ball. Shashank smacked it over long off as PBKS fell tantalisingly short by two runs.

Earlier, Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan won the toss and elected to field.

The hosts got off to a good start as they scalped the wickets of Travis Head, Aiden Markram and Abhishek Sharma inside the Powerplay. 

It was an eventful start to the match as Travis Head got lucky after he was given not out following an appeal for a caught behind off the first ball of the match bowled by Rabada. PBKS didn't opt for a review. Replays later showed there was an edge as the ball brushed the bat. Rabada bowled a beautiful first over to Head and beat him multiple times. Head then went after Rabada in his next over, hitting three fours, one of them through an inside edge, taking 16 off the over. Abhishek Sharma then survived a run out chance before Head's luck finally ran out in the next over as he mistimed a loft off Arshdeep and Shikhar Dhawan took a brilliant catch running backwards.

A double-wicket over from @arshdeepsinghh👌 👌

A brilliant running catch from @PunjabKingsIPL captain @SDhawan25 🙌 🙌

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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 9, 2024

Arshdeep struck again in the same over, having Aiden Markram caught behind. Abhishek Sharma then went after Sam Curran, hitting him for a six and a four in the next over, but the PBKS all-rounder hit back hard to dismiss him off the next ball to reduce SRH to 39/3 from five overs.

SRH then sent Rahul Tripathi as their Impact Player, replacing Head. He, along with Nitish Kumar Reddy, stabilised things a bit with a 25-run stand, but the boundaries were hard to come by. The pressure was maintained, and SRH lost another one before the halfway mark as Harshal Patel dismissed Tripathi, caught behind, via an excellent review.

Reddy then released the pressure valve as he cracked a couple of fours and a six off Harpreet Brar. He then smashed a six each off Rabada and Curran to bring up SRH's 100 in the 13th over. Just when it seemed like SRH were gaining some momentum, Harshal provided a crucial breakthrough as he had Heinrich Klaasen caught at long off. Abdul Samad strode out and creamed a couple of superb fours. Nitish continued to attack and brought up his fifty with a four and six off Brar, but was dropped off the next ball as Shashank Singh couldn't hold on to a tough chance. Nitish rubbed salt on PBKS' wounds as he cracked a six off the next ball to make it 22 off the over. 

A special counter attacking innings from Nitish Kumar Reddy 🙌

He is leading #SRH's fightback with some glorious shots 👌

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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 9, 2024

The pair brought up the 50-run stand off just 19 balls but soon after both the set batters departed as Arshdeep came back to strike a double blow in the 17th over. Nitish departed for a brilliant counter-attacking 64(37), filled with four fours and five sixes, while Samad made a brisk 25 off just 12 balls, cracking five fours. 

PBKS bounced back in the slog-overs, picking up 4/36 in the last four overs as SRH finished on 182/9.