IPL 2022, SRH vs PBKS | There are lot of positives for us, remarks Mayank Agarwal

Punjab Kings (PBKS) cruised past Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Sunday in Match 70 of the ongoing IPL 2022 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. After Bhuvneshwar Kumar -- the stand-in SRH captain in Kane Williamson's absence -- won the toss and opted to bat, SRH could only manage 157/8 at the end of the innings. Abhishek Sharma scored 43 off 32 balls, and Romario Shepherd 26 not out off 15 balls, but the others made little impact. For PBKS, Nathan Ellis and Harpreet Brar claimed three wickets apiece.

In response, PBKS started to play aggressively right from the beginning and got the job done in just 15.1 overs. Shikhar Dhawan, the most-consistent PBKS batter this year, anchored the innings by scoring 39 off 32 balls, while Liam Livingstone played a brisk cameo of 22-ball 49 not out. Jonny Bairstow (23 of 15 balls) and Jitesh Sharma (19* off seven balls) chipped in with handy contributions as well.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Mayank Agarwal, the PBKS skipper, said he was pleased with his side's dominating performance against SRH. Although Mayank departed cheaply (1 off 4 balls) again at No. 4 position, he said there were a lot of positive takeaways from the match.

"There are a lot of positives for us. The way Livingstone batted, Dhawan played well. Bairstow since the time he started to open. If we go out there and play the kind of cricket we play, we can do well in the next season," Mayank said at the post-match presentation.

"We couldn't stitch two back-to-back wins. We lost wickets in a cluster, and that at times derailed us. We have played an aggressive brand of cricket overall. We are going to sit and discuss now after the IPL. We were here to get two points and we were here to enjoy ourselves."

With the result, PBKS finished the season at sixth place, with14 points. SRH, on the other hand, ended eighth, with 12 points.