SRH vs PBKS: Jitesh Sharma upbeat despite loss in Hyderabad on captaincy debut

PBKS stand-in skipper Jitesh Sharma was upbeat after his first experience captaining a side despite being on the losing side in Hyderabad. Jitesh was given the captaincy for the final game for PBKS as Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out with injury and Sam Curran departing for national duty ahead of the T20 World Cup. Jitesh won the toss on his captaincy debut, but they failed to win the game.

Speaking after the loss to SRH, Jitesh said it was fun out on the field as the skipper with a big smile. The PBKS stand-in skipper was happy with his players and felt they fought hard in the game, despite just one overseas star in their ranks in the form of Rilee Rossouw. Jitesh said that the team needs to play and plan accordingly to the wicket.

"It was fun out there. The boys fought really hard and we enjoyed a lot. Nice game without the overseas players. The discussion won't help till you imply on the ground. We have to play according to the wicket and plan accordingly," said Jitesh.

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How did the SRH vs PBKS match pan out?

PBKS had won the toss and opted to bat first in Hyderabad with rain in the air. Atharva Taide and Prabhsimran Singh got Punjab off to the perfect start as the duo put on 97 runs for the first wicket in 9.1 overs. Prabhsimran continued the attack despite Taide returning to the pavilion and scored 71 off 45 balls. He got support from Rilee Rossouw, who hit 49 off 24 balls.

However, SRH fought back to restrict PBKS in the end to 214 runs in 20 overs. Jitesh scored 32 off 15 balls to help them get to the score.

SRH's chase didn't get off to the best start as they lost Travis Head off the very first ball before Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi got them going. Abhishek hit 66 off 28 balls and cameos from Tripathi, Klaasen and Nitish Reddy ensured SRH got the win in the end in the final over.

PBKS ended the season in 9th spot with the loss, just ahead of MI.