It was all about Sunrisers Hyderabad's David Warner against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday. The Australian became the first ever Sunrisers Hyderabad player to score an IPL century, which paved the way for home team's victory. SRH beat KKR by 48 runs.
Right from the first ball of the innings, one was aware about Warner's intent. He came down the track to Nathan Coulter Nile.
After SRH scored six runs from the first over, Warner (126, 59b, 10x4, 8x6) looked even more aggressive in the overs to follow. He was at his menacing best in the third over, as he hit two sixes and a boundary. The Australian also completed his fifty inside the Powerplay, which witnessed Shikhar Dhawan and Warner score 79 runs.
It was Warner, who took the attack to the KKR bowlers while Shikhar was just enjoying the sight of his partner dealing in boundaries. Even after the field restrictions got over, Warner was in no mood to slow down as the Australian was always looking for boundaries
Even luck was on Warner's side as he was dropped on 86 runs in the boundary line, and the left-hander completed his ton in the 11th over by running a quick couple.
The skipper was eventually dismissed for a stunning 59-ball 126. Woakes, who dropped him before the ton, send him back to the dugout.
Kane Williamson (40, 25b, 5x4), then, played some wonderful shots in the final few overs to take SRH's total past the 200-run mark. They finished with 209 runs on the board.
KKR had an uphil task with such a mamoth total on the board. They were looking for some solid opening stand from Gautam Gambhir and Sunil Narine. Things did not go according to plan as the West Indian failed to make any impression. He was out in the second over of the game.
WIth Narine gone, it brought two in-form players of KKR together. If the visitors had any chance of scripting a famous victory, Gambhir and Robin Uthappa had to strike it clean and score big.
But, it was not to be. Gambhir was out in the third over of the match, and Uthappa had a whole lot to do alongwith Manish Pandey.
The wicket-keeper batsman was having a great time in the middle, taking on the SRH bowlers, who were keen to send the star player back in the dug out.
Uthappa hit some lusty blows, and even completed yet another IPL 2017 fifty. With Pandey also dismissed, Uthappa had to up the ante, and in doing so, he lost his wicket. After Uthappa's wicket, it was never going to be easy with the required run rate over 12 per over or even more.
KKR, despite efforts from Yusuf Pathan and Colin de Grandhomme, KKR only managed to score 161 runs, and lost their third match of IPL 2017.
Match scorecard
Toss: KKR won the toss, chose to bowl.
SRH: 209/3 in 20 overs.
KKR:161/7 in 20 overs.
Result: SRH won by 48 runs.
Bowling:
KKR: Nathan Coulter-Nile 4-0-34-0; Umesh Yadav 4-0-30-0; Chris Woakes 4-0-46-1; Yusuf Pathan 1-0-17-0; Sunil Narine 3-0-37-0; Kuldeep Yadav 4-0-43-0.
SRH: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4-0-90-2; Mohammed Siraj 4-0-26-2; S Kaul 4-0-26-2; Moises Henriques 3-0-31-0; Rashid Khan 4-0-38-1; Bipul Sharma 1-0-10-0.
Fall of wickets: SRH: 139/1, Dhawan (12.4 ov), 171/2, Warner (16.2 ov), 209/3, Williamson (19.6 ov)
KKR: 9/1, Narine (1.2 ov)12/2, Gambhir (2.3 ov), 90/3, Pandey (10.6 ov), 109/4, Uthappa (12.3 ov), 130/5, Pathan (15.6 ov), 154/6, Jackson (18.6 ov) 161/7, de Grandhomme (19.6 ov)
Watch SRH vs KKR, including David Warner's century highlights
