SRH's Shivang and Sakib Prove Themselves as Unsung Heroes in IPL 2026

SRH's bowling duo Shivang Kumar and Sakib Hussain shine in the team's win against CSK in IPL 2026.

SRH's Unsung Heroes Shine in Victory Although Eshan Malinga and Nitish Kumar Reddy grabbed the headlines after Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) narrowly defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 10 runs in their IPL 2026 match, two other SRH bowlers made equally impressive contributions: Shivang Kumar and Sakib Hussain. Shivang quickly took to the field after the powerplay and conceded only 7 runs in his first over, followed by 8 runs in his second over, and just 3 runs in his final over, the 12th of the innings, to finish with 1 for 18, the wicket of Dewald Brevis being the significant one. 'Smart bowling by Shivang, especially earlier on,' Ambati Rayudu said on TimeOut after the game. 'We have been calling for bowlers to be brave in the middle overs, to toss it up there, lure batsmen to make a mistake, and that is a fantastic example of somebody doing that, being brave.' ## Shivang's Smart Bowling Brings CSK Back on Track Speaking specifically about the Brevis dismissal, it was a tossed-up ball that drifted away from the right-handed Brevis, who sliced an attempted loft down the ground. 'He got it wide enough, didn't he?' Aaron Finch said. 'He had to reach for it. He was also on the back foot, Brevis. He was none of three balls, and he would have been like, 'come on, I need to get away.' So smart bowling, understanding when to use it and how to use that variation of pace is really important to.. he does that.' ## Sakib Hussain's Impressive Debut Continues In SRH's previous game, their bowling stars were two newbies, Sakib one of them and Praful Hinge the other. They both returned four-fors in their IPL debuts, Hinge, later named the Player of the Match, quite the star after picking up three wickets in the first over of Rajasthan Royals' chase. Hinge had a bit of the second-game blues against CSK, conceding 53 runs from his first three overs, though he bounced back nicely in the end, conceding just 7 runs in the final over of the chase with an around-the-wicket plan and picking up the wicket of Jamie Overton. ## Sakib's Performance Proves He's a Rising Star No blues for Sakib, though. He gave away 13 runs in his powerplay over, 7 and 6 in his overs in the middle phase, and then just 6 runs in the 17th of the innings, also picking up the wicket of Shivam Dube in that last over. Just when Dube, then on 21 off 15 balls, was looking like he would take CSK over the line. Finch said Sakib 'executed beautifully', while Rayudu says Sakib has a 'unique action'. 'It certainly was [the turning point] because it almost looked like Dube was setting himself to [be] that real finisher towards the back end and just got out right at the wrong time,' Finch said. ## Sakib's Ability to Use Pace-Off Proves Crucial You've got one end of the stick where you've got Hinge, who has a great game [but] then goes around the park. But then you've got Sakib, who then all of a sudden starts executing beautifully just with his ability to use pace-off. Because we know that Dubey wants it full, he wants it fast, he wants it one pace consistently. So just continually to change it up was brilliant,' Finch said. Sakib also got the ball to shape into the right-hand batters, as Rayudu pointed out. 'He has a unique action, it's not easy to pick the ball out of his hand,' Rayudu said.