Chennai: Sunrisers Hyderabad outclassed Punjab Kings by nine wickets to snap their three-match losing streak in the IPL here on Wednesday.
Opting to bat, Punjab Kings were bundled out for a below-par 120, courtesy pacer Khaleel Ahmed (3/21) and spinner Abhishek Sharma (2/24), who shared five wickets between them.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/16), Rashid Khan (1/17) and Siddarth Kaul (1/27) were the other wicket-takers for Sunrisers.
Chasing the total, opener Jonny Bairstow (63 not out) first added 73 runs off 60 balls with David Warner (37) and then shared an unbeaten 48-run stand with Kane Williamson (16) to take SRH home in 18.4 overs.
For Punjab Kings, Shahrukh Khan and Mayank Agarawal, who was dropped on nought in the very first over by Rashid, were the top scorers. Both scored 22 each.
In an innings when clearing the boundary seemed to be a tall task, Shahrukh managed two sixes, while Agarwal hit two fours.
Opting to bat in their first game at M A Chidambaram Stadium, Punjab lost their in-form skipper K L Rahul (4) early on.
Agarwal and Chris Galye (15) stitched 24-run partnership. However, at the end of the seventh over, Khaleel got rid of the Indian with Rashid making no mistakes this time at midwicket.
West Indian Nicholas Pooran (0) was out for a diamond duck as Sunrisers skipper David Warner effected a run out in the eighth over. Gayle followed his compatriot in the next over as he was adjudged leg before.
Punjab was reeling at 53/4 at the halfway mark as wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals.
Deepak Hooda (13) and Australian all-rounder Moises Henriques (14) got starts but were unable to capitalised on them. Spin all-rounder Fabian Allen (6) also struggled on his debut.
Local star Shahrukh tried to inject some hope into the Punjab camp but a slower ball by Khaleel marked the end of his cameo.
Murugan Ashwin (9) hit a boundary but Kaul accounted for the spinner in the last over which was followed by the dismal of Mohammed Shami (3), who was run out by the duo of Vijay Shankar and wicketkeeper Bairstow.
