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IPL 9: Mustafizur, Warner sets up third consecutive win for Sunrisers

April 24 2016
XtraTime
David Warner has been in tremendous form for the Sunrisers. Image Source: File Pic
David Warner has been in tremendous form for the Sunrisers. Image Source: File Pic

Internet Desk: Sunrisers Hyderabad posted third successive win in VIVO IPL 2016 when they defeated Kings XI Punjab by five wickets at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Saturday night. After David Warner opted to bowl, his bowlers rose to the occasion by restricting the visitors to a modest 143-6. Warner himself killed the run-chase, thanks to his quick-fire 90-run partnership with Shikhar Dhawan, and though they lost four wickets in quick time thereafter, SRH strolled past the finish line in the 18th over.

If Warner and Dhawan made light of the target given to them, much of the credit for setting up the win must go the SRH bowlers who kept the visitors down to an under-par score. Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled a beautiful outswinger that sucked KXIP opener Murali Vijay, who only managed to edge it to the wicketkeeper. Manan Vohra and innings top-scorer Shaun Marsh resurrected the innings with a 21-run partnership before the former attempted a non-existent run and was run out. KXIP 35 for 2.

Moises Henriques tilted the scales decisively in favour of the home team when he struck twice in his second over – the tenth of the innings; he found the outside edge of David Miller’s bat, which was pouched by Naman Ojha even as the ball was still on its way up, and four balls later Glenn Maxwell powered a short delivery, but to his misfortune the ball found the man patrolling the fine-leg region. For the second time this season, KXIP had lost both their match-winners in the same over. KXIP 65-5.
Marsh, the most consistent among KXIP batsmen, battled along and got to 40 before he was trapped in front of the stumps by Mustafizur Rahman. 89 for 5 at that stage, KXIP got past the 140-run mark, thanks chiefly to Axar Patel’s cameo and his 50-run partnership with debutant Nikhil Naik (22 from 28 balls). The left-handed Patel hit three sixes and one four and remained unbeaten on 36 from 17 balls.For SRH, Bhuvneshwar (1-37), Mustafizur Rahman and Moises Henriques (2-33) were the wicket-takers. Mustafizur was unplayable; the 20-year old didn’t concede a run off the first nine balls he bowled, did not concede a boundary in his entire spell and finished with astonishing figures of 4-1-9-2 which included 17 dot deliveries.

Cut to the chase, David Warner exploded at the start and went hammer and tongs from the word go. The left-hander, coming into the match with scores of 90* and 74* in his previous two outings, wielded his willow aggressively, hitting Sandeep Sharma for two sixes and a boundary in the third over. Kyle Abbott was hit for two boundaries in the fourth over, while Maxwell was hit for a six and a four in the fifth over. By the time six overs were complete, SRH had raced to 65 for no loss – highest powerplay score of the season – with Warner 44 from 20 balls.

The SRH captain brought up his half-century in the seventh over – needing only 23 balls to get to the milestone. He was dismissed in the tenth over for 59 – made from 31 balls and studded with 7 fours and 3 sixes – with SRH still needing 54 runs.

There was a bit of a stutter thereafter when Aditya Tare (first-ball duck), Dhawan (45), Eoin Morgan (25) and Deepak Hooda were dismissed in quick succession. But after the start provided by their captain, it was only a matter of time; fittingly, Henriques – who struck the two telling blows in the evening and then pouched a stunning catch – hit the winning runs. SRH got home with 13 balls to spare.