Knowing priyansh

Aakash Chopra: Punjab Kings’ chase against Sunrisers Hyderabad was effectively derailed by the early dismissal of captain Shreyas Iyer, according to former India opener Aakash Chopra, who termed the wicket the turning point of the contest which the visitors lost by 33 runs.

In the fourth over of second innings, Iyer miscued a cutter from pacer Eshan Malings and was caught by skipper Pat Cummins, as he made five off as many balls. With him, Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya falling cheaply, PBKS could make only 202/7, despite Cooper Connolly hitting 107 off 59 balls, and suffer their third straight defeat.

“They had already lost two wickets. There’s a stat that if you lose two or more wickets in the Powerplay while chasing, you are on the back foot in about 70 per cent of matches. And this was the third wicket. It was a slightly slow surface.