J Suchith the teaser

Wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel ran in while the bowler Mitchell McClenaghan, the slip fielder and cover tried to get near the high catch offered by David Warner in the second over. Kieron Pollard, who was sauntering in from point, grabbed the ball almost from Parthiv's gloves as they all started to converge towards each other.

Pollard looked back at the wicketkeeper after avoiding the collision, but by then McClenaghan was already slamming the turf in celebration so there was no point mulling on the catcher.

J Suchith must have looked like a release point for Moises Henriques and KL Rahul as they struggled to pick up the pace in the Sunrisers Hyderabad innings after being 23 for 3 in the sixth over. Suchith, to his credit, seemed to expect that from the batsmen but kept bowling at a slower pace with teasing flight.

Henriques' first try by charging down the track cost him his wicket as Parthiv whipped the bails off, and on the next ball Naman Ojha softly pushed the ball to cover for a simple catch. It was all in Suchith's air.

Sunrisers' innings continued to go directionless until Ashish Reddy gave them something to cheer about. In the 15th over, he slogged Harbhajan Singh over midwicket for a huge six. It reached the second level of the gallery, where it was caught by in the crowd.

There must have been hope that Reddy and the rest of the lower-order batsmen would accelerate in the last five overs, like it usually happens even in stuttering T20 innings. But they could add only 33 runs, losing the last four wickets.

Praveen Kumar was mindful of Lasith Malinga's change of pace while batting, but his mode of defence was hilarious. As Malinga charged in, Praveen covered his stumps and the moment Malinga flung out another slower one, Praveen got in line and just dabbed the ball down the ground. It was as basic as any amateur would do in a casual match in any gully or driveway.

It drew a laugh from wicketkeeper Parthiv and even in the dugouts where Sachin Tendulkar and Tom Moody couldn't help but smile at the sight of the batsman simply shutting it down. When he later ran a single, Rohit Sharma seemed to take the mickey out of Praveen.