Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
A dominating performance from Punjab Kings outplayed former champions Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets on Sunday evening (May 24), in the last league stage game of the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League. Liam Livingstone's 49 off 22 deliveries ensured a comprehensive run chase for the Kings before Nathan Ellis and Harpreet Brar scalped three wickets each to restrict Hyderabad to 157/8 in 20 overs.
In response to 157, Jonny Bairstow's brief innings of 23 in 15 deliveries provided a solid start to the Kings before Fazalhaq Farooqi dismissed him in the third over of the second innings. Shahrukh Khan (19 off 10) and Shikhar Dhawan (39 off 32) steadied the innings for Kings before Livingstone stole the show with his power-packed performance.
Livingstone scored 49 in 22 deliveries with the help of five sixes and two boundaries. Jitesh Sharma came in handy with his 19 in seven deliveries, comprising three boundaries and one maximum. Earlier, Abhishek Sharma (43 off 32), Aiden Markram (21 off 17), Washington Sundar (25 off 19) and Romario Shepherd (26 off 15) made valuable contributions for Hyderabad in the first innings. Though both the teams have already been eliminated from the tournament, a win in the last league stage match helped Punjab to end their campaign on a high note. Let's look at the points table after match number 70 of IPL 2022.
Changes in points table
With that win, Punjab Kings finished their IPL 2022 campaign at the sixth position of the points table with seven wins in 14 games. Meanwhile, Hyderabad's disappointing season resulted in their last league stage game as they finished eighth in the points table after 14 games in the ongoing season.
What did the captains say?
The Punjab skipper showed confidence in his boys and assured everyone that the side would bounce back stronger. "If we go out there and play the kind of cricket we play, we can do well next season," he said. Kings skipper also confessed that inconsistency in the campaign was a significant factor for poor results and that derailed their campaign.
However, Bhuvneshwar was handed over captaincy reign in the absence of Kane Williamson, who headed home for the birth of his child. The skipper confessed that players lost a few excellent chances and fumbled in the middle. "We will have to look at our squad, and the management will have to work out the weaknesses ahead of the next season," he said. However, Bhuvneshwar also mentioned Umran Malik and Abhishek Sharma as the biggest takeaways for the management from the season.
What's next in IPL 2022?
Gujarat Titans will take on Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday evening (May 24) at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Whoever wins the game will be the first finalist of the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League. In contrast, the one who loses will get another chance in Qualifier 2 against the winner of the Eliminator.