Hyderabad, April 21: A top-heavy Sunrisers Hyderabad proved too hot for a listless Kolkata Knight Riders to handle as they registered a massive 9-wicket win at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday (April 21) in the IPL 2019 encounter.
David Warner (67) and Jonny Bairstow (80*) once again did the bulk of scoring for their side and stitched a partnership of 134 runs for the first wicket and made the run chase look ridiculously easy.
The hosts snapped their three-match losing streak with a win over table leaders CSK, and continued their winning momemtum to once again make it to the top-four in the points table. KKR, on the other hand, have suffered their fifth game on the trot.
IPL 2019 Special Site | Full Schedule | Points Table
After bowlers pulled things back in the middle overs and prevented Kolkata batsmen to score freely in the death, Warner and Bairstow once posted another century stand and took the game away from the visiting team's grip. Chasing a target of 161, Sunrisers reached home with 9 wickets and 30 balls to spare.
Continuing their good form in the tournament, both the Sunrisers' openers punished KKR bowlers right from the start and also made the visitors pay for their sloppy fielding. It was their explosive batting that threw KKR's strategies and plans out of place.
None of the KKR bowlers could pose any threat to the SRH openers who kept scoring runs decently. KKR openers also got off to an explosive start thanks to Sunil Narine (25 off 8) and Chris Lynn (51 off 47). Khaleel Ahmed (3/33) got the wickets of KKR's top three and prevented them from scoring big. Khaleel removed Narine first and later got the wickets of Shubman Gill (3) and Lynn (51) in the middle overs.
However, it was KKR's middle-order that kept falling like ninepins and KKR never got the momentum in the death overs. Andre Russell (15) was dismissed cheaply by Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the death over but perhaps he had to wait too late to enter in the middle which cost them.
Here's how the match between SRH and KKR panned out:
Khaleel Ahmed has been named the man of the match for his brilliant bowling figures.
Jonny Bairstow: The way they got off to that start, the bowlers did well to peg them back. Huge credit to our guys, it could've got away from us. Could've got to 200. When we came out to bat, the pitch slowed up. Expected it to be slightly quicker than that tonight. Don't want to start any rumours. It's good fun. He's a great bloke to bat with. We run well between the wickets. When he gets off to start like that, it's just a case of giving him the strike. There's been a lot of chat about the middle order, probably unfairly so. We've got some quality players in that middle order who haven't been able to spend some time in the middle which is a good thing because it means we've been doing our job. It's been brilliant. My first IPL and I've been loving every bit of it. Hopefully, I'll be back.
Dinesh Karthik, losing captain: I think 160 was a par score on this wicket if we'd bowled well. I think they (Warner and Bairstow) batted really well but I our fielding cost us. And after that dropped catch he came at us all guns blazing. A wicket of Bairstow would have felt better, feel for the guy (Yarra Prithviraj). We have been outplayed in this game. Having said that our bowling has been off-colour in the tournament. Our fielding needs a lot of improvement too. A form issue with (Kuldeep) - as he couldn't stand up for us in the last game. We had to give him a break and get him back fresh.
KKR have lost their FIFTH match on the trot and they seriously need to improve in all three departments.
SIX, SIX!!! And Jonny Bairstow finishes it off in style! SunRisers have crushed Kolkata Knight Riders by 9 wickets and 30 balls to spare.
150 comes up for SRH with a boundary from Jonny Bairstow.
The partnerships between Warner and Bairstow in this season!
Warner & Bairstow - Partnerships in #IPL2019
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) April 21, 2019
118 (77) v KKR
110 (58) v RR
185 (98) v RCB
64 (41) v DC
33 (22) v MI
7 (10) v KXIP
72 (59) v DC
66 (34) v CSK
131 (74) v KKR
No opening pair has registered four century stands in a season in the history of T20s.@SunRisers #SRHvKKR
8 runs and a wicket from Yarra's over!! SRH 138/1 after 13 overs. They need 22 from 42 deliveries.
Wicket! Debutant Prithvi Raj Yarra cleans up dangerous David Warner (67). It will be a moment to cheer for the bowler. He was unlucky today as Bairstow got breathers twice against him but decided to get his maiden IPL wicket on his own. SRH - 131/1 after 12.2 overs.
Don't need dud fielders when you can find off stump, but a great knock yet again from Davey Warner. #SRHvKKR
— Rick Eyre on cricket (@rickeyrecricket) April 21, 2019
Dropped! Jonny Bairstow gets third breather today as Piyush Chawla fails to catch the skier.
Four, SIX!!! David Warner hits back-to-back boundaries and ends Sunil Narine's over with 16 runs. SRH - 130/0 after 12 overs.
Dropped! Butter fingers! Harry Gurney drops a sitter in the deep and Bairstow gets another reprieve.
500 runs for David Warner in this season!!
500 runs in #VIVOIPL 2019 for @davidwarner31 🙌
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 21, 2019
And just by the way,
Warner brought up his 6⃣th Fifty in 2019, 4⃣2⃣nd in the tournament 🙌#Unstoppable #SRHvKKR pic.twitter.com/McVkjOgUrD
SRH are 109/0 after 10 overs. They are cruising in this run chase.
50! Half-century Bairstow as well. What a season it has been for the English batsman?? This is his debut IPL season.
50! Sixth half-century for Warner in this season! The left-handed opener is looking unstoppable in this season.
Fourth Century partnership between Bairstow and Warner in IPL It came in the 9th over itself. SRH - 102/0 after 9 overs.
Most runs by an opening pair in a season (IPL) 733 Warner - Bairstow (2019) 731 Warner - Dhawan (2016) 655 Warner - Dhawan (2017) 646 Warner - Dhawan (2015).
Four! Short-pitched delivery from Russell and Bairstow pulls him towards mid-wicket boundary.
Highest Powerplay scores for SRH in IPL 79 v KKR Hyderabad 2017 76 v CSK Hyderabad 2015 72 v KKR Hyderabad 2019 *today 69 v RR Hyderabad 2019.
Highest Powerplay scores in #IPL2019
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) April 21, 2019
SRH v KKR - 72/0, Today
SRH v RR - 69/0, 29th Mar
SRH v CSK - 68/1, 17th Apr@SunRisers have the top three powerplay scores in this IPL. They've lost only four wickets in 54 overs, losing a wicket once in 81 deliveries. #SRHvKKR
End of the powerplay! SunRisers have posted 72/0 in the 6 overs. Warner and Bairstow have once again given their team a fiery start.
SIX!!! David Warner pulls KC Kariappa and sends the ball into the stands. Four!! The spinner bowls a poor line and Warner gets a boundary on the next delivery. SIX!! Another maximum from Warner against the spinner.
9 runs came from the first over bowled by Narine. SRH - 52/0 after 5 overs. Warner - 25* Bairstow - 24* are batting aggressively in the powerplay and they have stitched another fifty partnership between them. This is their seventh in nine innings so far.
SIX!! David Warner hits Sunil Narine over long-on for a maximum. He's looking in phenomenal touch today. Simply unstoppable.
Another good over from Sunrisers Hyderabad's point of view. They're off to a flier. SRH - 43/0 after 4 overs.
SIX!!! Bairstow reads the googly from Chawla and dispatches it over long-on for a maximum. Superb stroke from the batsman.
Four! Jonny Bairstow slog-sweeps Chawla over midwicket for a boundary.
Piyush Chawla has been introduced in the attack in the 4th over. Leg-spinners have troubled Bairstow in this tournament.
10 runs came from that over bowled by Gurney. SRH are going well in this run chase as they have posted 32/0 after 3 overs.
Four! Warner gets a boundary on the first delivery of the second over bowled by Gurney.