Hyderabad, India : Punjab Kings missed the chance to strengthen their hold on top spot in the Indian Premier League after sloppy fielding contributed to a third straight defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Punjab dropped multiple catches early in Hyderabad’s innings, allowing Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen to punish them with aggressive batting displays.
Kishan, who was dropped twice, scored 55, while Klaasen smashed 69 after surviving an early chance as Hyderabad posted 235-4 from their 20 overs.
Punjab managed only 202 in reply.
Captain Shreyas Iyer said the dropped catches proved decisive.
“We dropped many catches at the start, we could have easily reduced their score by 30-40 runs,” Iyer said.
“Unfortunately, we were not able to take catches. I think that was the biggest setback for us in today’s game — definitely something to reflect on and come back stronger.”
Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal created two opportunities only to see both chances spilled, taking the number of dropped catches off his bowling this season to eight.
Punjab batter Shashank Singh has also dropped five catches in his last three matches.
Punjab spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule said Hyderabad’s power hitters made the mistakes costly.
“It was very important to take those catches because they are such players that if you tend to drop catches, they will score and score quickly,” Bahutule told reporters.
“I definitely think catching could have changed the momentum of the game. There would have been fresh batters on the pitch and we could have executed our plans more effectively and maybe conceded 50 runs fewer.”
