In the IPL 2026 clash on May 6, Punjab Kings had a disastrous outing on the field, dropping three crucial catches and missing a crucial stumping opportunity during their 33-run defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Costly errors gave a vital lifeline to SRH’s top batsmen, who made Punjab pay dearly to reach a mammoth 235/4. Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin Decodes the possible reasons behind Punjab Kings’ melee fielding display during the clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad, pointing to the difficult outfield conditions and uneven bounce at the Hyderabad Stadium.
Ishan Kishan Fell twice
Ishan Kishan escaped two big chances during his explosive innings of 55 off 32 balls.
- Over 7.1: Cooper Connolly took a simple catch at deep backward square off Lockie Ferguson when the cushions were just 9 runs.
- Over 11: Ferguson himself got another chance at deep midwicket off Yuzvinder Chahal with a cushion of 18 runs.
Heinrich Klassen A lifeline is found.
Heinrich Klaasen was also given a reprieve at the start of his innings.
- 8.4 overs: Shashank Singh dropped a regulation catch to Chahal at deep backward square when Klaasen was on 9.
Klaasen took advantage in brutal fashion, scoring 69 off 43 balls and becoming SRH’s top scorer.
Missed stomping adds to the discomfort of PBKS.
Punjab’s struggles behind the stumps compounded their woes when wicketkeeper Prabhasmaran Singh missed a stumping opportunity against a cushion off Chahal in the 11th over.Despite Connolly’s sensational maiden IPL century, an unbeaten 107 off 59 balls, the Punjab Kings eventually fell short in the chase, unable to recover from the damage caused by their fielding errors as SRH were assured of 33 runs.Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin decodes the possible reasons,“I’m not making excuses, but there was definitely something wrong with Punjab Kings’ fielding this time. They dropped a lot of catches. Even when Ricky Ponting was being interviewed during the match, he mentioned that bad fielding spreads like a virus through a team,” Ashwin said.Ashwin specifically highlighted Cooper Connolly’s dropped catch and attributed it to the nature of the outfield near the boundary ropes.“One thing I noticed was Cooper Connolly’s dropped catch. Just before that, he also mistimed a boundary. You could clearly tell the ball was bouncing abnormally close to the boundary line. The ball was kicking fast in the previous match at the Hyderabad Stadium as well. This usually happens when the outfield becomes too stiff and loses its softness,” he explained.The veteran off-spinner also analyzed Prabhasmaran Singh’s missed stumping and felt that the wicketkeeper was caught out due to an unexpected bounce.“Prabhasmaran missed stumping because I don’t think he was fully prepared for that kind of bounce. When Ishan Kishan came out, he expected the ball to come to the glove normally, but suddenly it bounced higher than expected. He didn’t anticipate it in time. Since he is not very tall, he has to read Ishan who has most of the bounce.”
