[Watch] SRH fielders shell back-to-back catches that parry over the boundary rope in the final over of PBKS clash in IPL 2024
An eventful final over of the SRH-PBKS clash at Mallanpur on April 9 saw back-to-back catches being dropped and the ball parrying over the fence for a maximum.
With PBKS needing an unlikely 29 off six to win, Ashutosh Sharma pulled the first delivery from Jaydev Unadkat to deep mid-wicket. However, the star of the game, Nitish Kumar Reddy palmed the ball over the fence despite timing his jump to perfection.
A couple of wides followed to reduce the equation to 21 needed off five when an identical drop rubbed further salt into Unadkat's wounds. Ashutosh struck a slot delivery straight to the long-off region where Abdul Samad allowed the ball to burst through his hands for another six.
Find the two dropped catches at the start of the below video:
The pair of drops were followed by a third miss in the over when Rahul Tripathi put down an easy chance at deep mid-wicket with 10 needed off two. However, none of them ultimately proved costly as SRH won a thriller by two runs despite the 26-run last over.
Nevertheless, Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma made a valiant attempt with a partnership similar to the one during their heist against GT in PBKS' previous outing. The pair added an unbeaten 66 off 27 deliveries to pull PBKS out of a hole and nearly complete an improbable win.
PBKS continue their inconsistent run through IPL 2024
Much of PBKS' failures in the past seasons have been down to their inconsistent play and the inability to string several wins together.
Punjab are replicating the same thus far this season, winning two out of five games to be fifth on the points table.
After an impressive win against DC in the season opener, PBKS suffered back-to-back losses against RCB and LSG. Yet, they stole victory from the jaws of defeat in the following game against GT from a similar position to the SRH outing.
As for SRH, the side has bounced back from a 1-2 start with two consecutive wins against CSK and PBKS.
Despite the overseas stars not coming to the party, Nitish Kumar Reddy saved the side from the blushes, scoring a blistering 64 off 37 deliveries and picking up a wicket.
SRH will look to make it three in a row when they take on RCB in their next encounter on Monday, April 15. Meanwhile, PBKS will hope to break even after six games when they play RR on Saturday, April 13.