IPL 2021: Sun finally rises for Hyderabad

Chennai - The target was a cakewalk as Bairstow and Warner (37 off 37 balls) added 73 for the first wicket in 10 overs

The sun finally rose for Hyderabad. Some are off the blocks real quick, while some are slow starters and the Sunrisers Hyderabad finally put the wheels on their IPL campaign with a comprehensive victory over Punjab Kings in Chennai on Wednesday night.

After agonising near misses in their previous three fixtures, David Warner’s side did just about everything right as they waltzed to a nine-wicket victory at Chepauk.

It was an encounter between the bottom two sides and left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed and young left-arm spinner Abhishek Sharma picked up three and two wickets respectively to keep Punjab Kings down to a paltry 120.

Then, the openers Jonny Bairstow and David Warner didn’t give the Punjab Kings even a whiff, racing away to 73 in 10.1 overs. Bairstow and Kane Williamson, who recovered from an elbow injury and replaced Mujeeb Ur Rahman, came up with an unbroken 48-run stand to take them home with eight balls still remaining.

Bairstow conjured an unbeaten 63 from 56 balls with three boundaries and an equal number of sixes, while Warner made a run-a-ball 37 with three fours and a six.

Their first victory pushed the Sunrisers Hyderabad from the foot of the table to fifth, while the Punjab Kings have now lost three on the bounce and are rooted at the bottom.

“I am just absolutely over the moon to get us over the line,” Bairstow, who was named Man of the Match, told the host broadcaster.

“It's been a tricky start for us. We have been very close in most of the games but just hadn't got over the line. Probably a bit of carelessness, to be honest. To be there till the end was really pleasing,” added the Englishman.

Meanwhile, Warner heaved a sigh of relief after they finally got off the mark.

“It is very pleasing. Our bowlers did a fantastic job and reduced them to a low score,” said Warner.

The Australian said that the inclusion of New Zealand captain Kane Williamson worked out well for the team.

“The game plan of having him (Williamson) there is obviously to anchor the game and he rotates strike so well. Against spin, he gets forward and gets back, he just knows his role and game plan. It's handy having him in the middle. I am really pleased we got across the line.

Meanwhile, Punjab Kings captain KL Rahul, who went past 5000 T20 runs, felt they were 10-15 runs short.

“We knew what to expect here. We tried to get used to the conditions as quickly as we could. We were 10-15 short on this pitch. The bowlers tried very hard, but it's very hard coming into these conditions and adapting quickly,” Rahul said.

“Every game from now is important for us and we have been in that position where we have to win every game,” he added.

james@khaleejtimes.com

Punjab Kings

KL Rahul c Jadhav b Kumar 4

M. Agarwal c Rashid b Ahmed 22

C. Gayle lbw b Rashid 15

N. Pooran run out 0

D. Hooda lbw b Abhishek 13

M. Henriques st Bairstow b Abhishek 14

S. Khan c Abhishek b Ahmed 22

F. Allen c Warner b Ahmed 6

M. Ashwin c Bairstow b Kaul 9

M. Shami run out 3

A. Singh not out 1

Extras (b 9, nb 1, w 1) 11

Total (all out, 19.4 overs) 120

Fall of wickets: 1-15 (KL Rahul), 2-39 (Agarwal), 3-39 (Pooran), 4-47 (Gayle), 5-63 (Deepak), 6-82 (Henriques), 7-101 (Fabian), 8-110 (Shahrukh), 9-114 (M. Ashwin), 10-120 (Shami)

Bowling: Abhishek Sharma 4-0-24-2; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3-0-16-1; Khaleel Ahmed 4-0-21-3; Siddarth Kaul 3.4-0-27-1; Vijay Shankar 1-0-6-0; Rashid Khan 4-0-17-1

Sunrisers Hyderabad

D. Warner c Agarwal b Allen 37

J. Bairstow not out 63

K. Williamson not out 16

Extras (lb 1, w 4) 5

Total (1 wkt, 18.4 overs) 121

Fall of wickets: 1-73 (Warner)

Bowling: Mohammed Shami 2-0-16-0; Fabian Allen 4-1-22-1; Arshdeep Singh 3.4-0-31-0; Moises Henriques 1-0-7-0; Murugan Ashwin 4-0-22-0; Deepak Hooda 4-0-22-0

• IPL 2024