Punjab Kings suffered a 33-run loss at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL 2026 game on Wednesday. In the contest, PBKS opener Priyansh Arya was dismissed by SRH captain Pat Cummins. The Australian pacer bowled a short ball, angling away from Priyansh, and the batter pulled it towards deep square leg, where Eshan Malinga took a good catch. This sort of dismissal is not new for Priyansh, who has become a victim of short balls quite often during IPL matches.
Former India all-rounder R Ashwin said the Punjab Kings shouldn’t bring any change to their batting order but added that Priyansh needs to find a tactical solution to counter the issue.
“I wouldn’t mess with the batting order immediately despite Priyansh’s issues with the short ball, as he stands a bit too still. And when the ball comes in he looks to lift the ball over the front and has been dismissed that way a few times,” Ashwin said in a video on his YouTube channel.
“And bowlers like Cummins, would beat him for angle, bounce and pace,” he added.
The spin legend said that Priyansh could take the help of PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting, who himself had been one of the best players of the pull shot in world cricket.
“But, the master of pull shot, Ponting could help him with the technical and tactical nuances of dealing with it,” Ashwin said.
Sunrisers Hyderabad put up an all-round show to outplay Punjab Kings in their IPL 2026 game at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday. With the win, the side took the top spot in the points table.
Heinrich Klaasen and Ishan Kishan slammed fiery fifties as SRH posted 235 for 4 after opting to bat first. Abhishek Sharma fell for 35 off 13, while Travis Head scored 38 off 19. The duo stitched a 54-run opening stand in 3.3 overs. Ishan Kishan then scored 55 off 32, while Klaasen slammed 69 off 43 as SRH posted a massive total on the board.
PBKS got off to a poor start (4 for 2 in 1.1 overs and 23 for 3 in 3.2 overs) in the chase and never really recovered. Cooper Connolly fought a lone battle with an unbeaten century (107 not out off 59) but lacked support from the other end.
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