Picture : Twitter / IPL
Desperate for a win Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) delivered an all-round performance against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) to register a 69-run win over the opponents in the Indian Premier League (IPL) .
David Warner and Jonny Bairstow stitched a 160-run stand for the first wicket, helping their side post a huge total of 201 runs on the board. Rashid Khan took three wickets while Thangarasu Natarajan and Khaleel Ahmed picked two wickets each in the match to take SRH over the line.
Chasing a massive target of 202 runs, KXIP witnessed a poor start as Mayank Agarwal was run out in the second over of the innings. The next batsman Simran Singh scored just 11 runs before being dismissed by Khaleel Ahmed in the fifth over.
The skipper KL Rahul was then joined by Nicholas Pooran on the field but their partnership also did not last long as the former was sent back to the pavilion by Abhishek Sharma.
Waner’s expression says it all when your team gets the big wicket of KL Rahul.#KXIP three down.#Dream11IPL pic.twitter.com/H3CTRNH6Ya
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 8, 2020
Glenn Maxwell was the next batsman. Pooran then shifted gear and struck four sixes and a boundary to Abdul Samad in the ninth over to complete his half-century off just 17 balls. Pooran, along with Maxwell, took the team over the 100-run mark in the 11th over but in the same over, Maxwell (7) got run out.
KXIP continued to give away wickets as Mandeep Singh and Mujeeb Ur Rahman also failed to impress. Khan then handed
SRH with the much-needed breakthrough as he got hold of Pooran (77) in the 15th over. Khan, on the very next delivery, dismissed Mohammed Shami, who was given LBW.
SRH were just two wickets away from the win and the bowlers easily took the team over the line as KXIP were all out on 132 runs.
Earlier, Warner scored 52 off 40 balls while Bairstow smashed 97 runs in just 55 balls to help SRH put a competitive target. Opting to bat, the duo bludgeoned the bowling attack and smashed 58 runs in the powerplay. Bairstow and Warner continued their onslaught and slammed boundaries at regular intervals.
SRH reached the 100-run mark without losing a wicket in just 10 overs as KXIP bowlers struggled to put a brake. Meanwhile, Bairstow completed his fifth IPL half-century. Also, Bairstow and Warner brought up their fifth 100-run stand in the IPL.
Bairstow continued whacking as SRH smashed 20 runs in the 11th over bowled by Glenn Maxwell. Meanwhile, Warner too completed his half-century as SRH raced to 160 runs in the 15 overs.
KXIP finally got the breakthrough as Ravi Bishnoi dismissed Warner in the 16th over. Three balls later Bairstow was caught in front of the stumps as KXIP finally got rid of the two openers.
In the very next over, Arshdeep Singh dismissed Manish Pandey as Punjab staged a late comeback in the game.
Bishnoi again wreaked havoc and sent Abdul Samad back in the dugout after he tried to go for the big slog. SRH lost
5 wickets in a span of three overs and got reduced to 175/5 with Kane Williamson still on crease. In the end, Williamson and played some fine shots which enabled SRH to get past the 200-run mark.
