SRH vs PBKS: PBKS had a nightmare outing in the field in their IPL 2026 clash against SRH on Wednesday (May 6). The PBKS fielders dropped three simple catches and missed a stumping in a display of what head coach Ricky Ponting called a ‘virus’, and the SRH batters made the most of it and set a mammoth total of 235/4 in the first innings.
SRH vs PBKS: A Comedy of Errors in Hyderabad
The fielding problems started in the eighth over from Lockie Ferguson. The first culprit was Cooper Connolly who dropped a sitter at deep backward square leg to give a huge life to Ishan Kishan. From there it only got worse for the bowlers, especially Yuzvendra Chahal.
What’s happening out there? 😲
🎥 Cooper Connolly, Shashank Singh and Lockie Ferguson drop crucial chances 🫣
How costly will these be? 👇
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Shashank Singh, who has had a season to forget with his catching, dropped another sitter at deep backward square leg off Chahal. This was Shashank’s fifth dropped catch in recent games, following three spills against LSG and one against DC.
The frustration boiled over when Lockie Ferguson dropped yet another catch at deep backward square leg to gift Kishan his second life of the night. To add to the pain, wicketkeeper Prabhsimran Singh dropped a stumping chance of Kishan just four balls later. In the entire episode, Chahal was seen with a stoic look of disbelief as his hard work was not rewarded by his teammates.
SRH vs PBKS: “Like a Virus”- Ricky Ponting Reacts
Speaking to broadcasters during the innings, a disappointed yet candid Ricky Ponting did not hold back. “It’s like a virus. “We’ve taken a lot of catches so far this season,” Ponting said. “The ball seemed to be ‘following’ Shashank Singh everywhere.
Ponting said the team had been working hard on catching drills in the past week to help Shashank who had returned to the side after a week-and-a-half break after straining his left hamstring. The errors remained, even if he returned in physical shape and trained hard under the lights of the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
SRH vs PBKS: No Excuses for Poor Fielding
Some might say the venue’s “ring of lights” was a distraction but Ponting was quick to dismiss any excuses. The team had trained at the stadium last night to get used to the conditions, he said.
“I’m not going to be making excuses for anyone putting down a catch,” the coach stated firmly. He did admit Chahal had once lost a ball in the lights in Mumbai but insisted this time Shashank seemed to have the ball covered all the time. These ‘butter fingers’ proved costly for a team in search of momentum as SRH rode their luck to a dominant first innings score.
Debayan Bhattacharyya is a seasoned sports journalist and digital media professional, currently serving as the Chief Sub Editor at ITV Digital (NewsX). A true Football-Fanatic Bong, his professional journey began at Zee Media, where he kicked off his career as a Sub-Editor for the sports team at India.com and CricketCountry. His ability to blend insightful analysis with rapid-fire news delivery soon led him to Times Network, where he served as a Senior Copy Editor for Times Now. Before his current role at NewsX, Debayan spent a significant tenure at OneIndia’s MyKhel as a Senior Sub Editor.
