Located near the Himalayan foothills, Mohali may be far from any Ashes venue, but cricket’s oldest rivalry was felt as Punjab Kings took on Sunrisers Hyderabad in this north Indian city.
Pat Cummins, the captain of Australia and Sunrisers, played a crucial role in the match by dismissing Punjab’s two English batsmen, leading Sunrisers to a two-run victory in the Indian Premier League.
Opening the innings as Sunrisers defended a total of 182, Cummins made an impact early on by taking the wicket of Jonny Bairstow for a duck in his first over.
Later in the match, Cummins took a spectacular catch to dismiss Sam Curran, another English player, who was threatening to turn the game in Kings’ favor.
Despite a late fightback from Kings’ batsmen Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma, Sunrisers managed to secure the win as Kings fell agonizingly short of the target.
Both teams went into the match with a record of two wins and two losses, aiming to secure a win to stay in contention for the play-off spots.
Travis Head’s early luck and Nitesh Reddy’s impressive innings were highlights of the match, with Cummins praising Reddy’s contribution to the team’s total score of 180.