Warner and rain reinIn the Knight Riders
- Gambhir & Co. fall short by 16 runs
David Warner finally came into his own and also showed leadership qualities. Not surprising then that Sunrisers Hyderabad prevailed over Kolkata Knight Riders at the ACA-VDCA Stadium, here, on Wednesday.
True, Sunrisers Hyderabad got a bit of help from the rain that not just robbed 40 minutes of play, but also made the equation a lot tougher for the defending champions.
But in the end, the final result is what matters and this 16-run victory, via the D/L method on Wednesday, could well bring about the turnaround the Sunrisers were desperately seeking.
It started pouring soon after the Sunrisers, led by Warner's 91, finished at 176 for four after being put in to bat. When play finally resumed at 7.30 pm after a couple of inspections, KKR were set a stiff revised target of 118 in 12 overs.
The start couldn't have been worse for the Sunrisers as the butter-fingered Lokesh Rahul and Praveen Kumar gave reprieves to both openers Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir. Dale Steyn was the unlucky bowler on both occasions.
But Praveen made amends soon after, removing Gambhir. Uthappa, too, departed playing a poor shot off Moises Henriques. Besides Warner, Praveen and Bhuvneshwar Kumar also played key roles in helping Sunrisers secure a crucial victory.
With 37 required off the last three overs, it was still anybody's game as Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan were at the crease. In came Bhuvneshwar to bowl the 10th over. Pitching it full and aiming for the block hole, he gave only five runs. Pressure was right back on KKR then.
Thereafter, Praveen conceded just seven off the penultimate over. KKR required 25 off the final over and the Sunrisers had to do something terribly bad to lose the game from such a position.
Bhuvneshwar continued being spot-on with his length and removed Yusuf as KKR managed to reach 101 for four. Also, don't forget the contribution of Ravi Bopara. After a disastrous show with the bat, he took what perhaps was the most important wicket - Andre Russell, who had been promoted up the order and was looking dangerous.
The defending champions have every reason to feel let down by the downpour. But considering the innings that Warner played and the effort he put in, Sunrisers deserved to win.
It wasn't just his power-hitting, it was controlled aggression coupled with calculated risk, which turned out to be the hallmark of his wonderfully composed 91. Given how Warner was going, reaching the precious three-figure mark looked easy for him. Getting there, especially in the presence of wife Candice, would certainly have made the occasion even more special, but Warner got it wrong when he was just nine short of a hundred.
The attempted pull, off Morne Morkel, hit the wrong side of his bat and went high up in the air with Uthappa taking it safely. It was the lone loose stroke to come off Warner's bat during his 55-ball innings that comprised nine boundaries and four sixes. Needless to mention, but all of them were well and truly clean hits.
Moreover, his improvisation had KKR baffled. Twice he employed the switch hit - off Johan Botha and Piyush Chawla - something that had really posed problems for captain Gautam Gambhir as far as field placements were concerned.
Considering the slow nature of the wicket here, KKR went in with an extra bowler in off-spinner Botha who replaced all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate. The plan was to choke Warner and Shikhar Dhawan with three specialist spinners (Sunil Narine and Piyush Chawla being the other two). But the move had little or no effect over Warner as once he got his eye in, there was just no stopping him.
Warner and Dhawan (54) put on 130 in an opening partnership before Morkel separated them in the second ball of the 15th over. Credit should go to Dhawan as well, for he didn't get carried away seeing Warner chance his arms at the other end.
The game plan was simple for Dhawan. He gave most of the strike to his captain and if the ball was pitched on the slot, he took no half measures.
The duo carried out their responsibilities, did their job admirably, but the Sunrisers' innings lost steam following Warner's dismissal. Dhawan also seemed to have lost his rhythm.
In the end, though, the Sunrisers shouldn't have any reason to complain, barring of course, the two dropped catches. Had they been taken, the victory could've been a crushing one.
True, Sunrisers Hyderabad got a bit of help from the rain that not just robbed 40 minutes of play, but also made the equation a lot tougher for the defending champions.
But in the end, the final result is what matters and this 16-run victory, via the D/L method on Wednesday, could well bring about the turnaround the Sunrisers were desperately seeking.
It started pouring soon after the Sunrisers, led by Warner's 91, finished at 176 for four after being put in to bat. When play finally resumed at 7.30 pm after a couple of inspections, KKR were set a stiff revised target of 118 in 12 overs.
The start couldn't have been worse for the Sunrisers as the butter-fingered Lokesh Rahul and Praveen Kumar gave reprieves to both openers Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir. Dale Steyn was the unlucky bowler on both occasions.
But Praveen made amends soon after, removing Gambhir. Uthappa, too, departed playing a poor shot off Moises Henriques. Besides Warner, Praveen and Bhuvneshwar Kumar also played key roles in helping Sunrisers secure a crucial victory.
With 37 required off the last three overs, it was still anybody's game as Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan were at the crease. In came Bhuvneshwar to bowl the 10th over. Pitching it full and aiming for the block hole, he gave only five runs. Pressure was right back on KKR then.
Thereafter, Praveen conceded just seven off the penultimate over. KKR required 25 off the final over and the Sunrisers had to do something terribly bad to lose the game from such a position.
Bhuvneshwar continued being spot-on with his length and removed Yusuf as KKR managed to reach 101 for four. Also, don't forget the contribution of Ravi Bopara. After a disastrous show with the bat, he took what perhaps was the most important wicket - Andre Russell, who had been promoted up the order and was looking dangerous.
The defending champions have every reason to feel let down by the downpour. But considering the innings that Warner played and the effort he put in, Sunrisers deserved to win.
It wasn't just his power-hitting, it was controlled aggression coupled with calculated risk, which turned out to be the hallmark of his wonderfully composed 91. Given how Warner was going, reaching the precious three-figure mark looked easy for him. Getting there, especially in the presence of wife Candice, would certainly have made the occasion even more special, but Warner got it wrong when he was just nine short of a hundred.
The attempted pull, off Morne Morkel, hit the wrong side of his bat and went high up in the air with Uthappa taking it safely. It was the lone loose stroke to come off Warner's bat during his 55-ball innings that comprised nine boundaries and four sixes. Needless to mention, but all of them were well and truly clean hits.
Moreover, his improvisation had KKR baffled. Twice he employed the switch hit - off Johan Botha and Piyush Chawla - something that had really posed problems for captain Gautam Gambhir as far as field placements were concerned.
Considering the slow nature of the wicket here, KKR went in with an extra bowler in off-spinner Botha who replaced all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate. The plan was to choke Warner and Shikhar Dhawan with three specialist spinners (Sunil Narine and Piyush Chawla being the other two). But the move had little or no effect over Warner as once he got his eye in, there was just no stopping him.
Warner and Dhawan (54) put on 130 in an opening partnership before Morkel separated them in the second ball of the 15th over. Credit should go to Dhawan as well, for he didn't get carried away seeing Warner chance his arms at the other end.
The game plan was simple for Dhawan. He gave most of the strike to his captain and if the ball was pitched on the slot, he took no half measures.
The duo carried out their responsibilities, did their job admirably, but the Sunrisers' innings lost steam following Warner's dismissal. Dhawan also seemed to have lost his rhythm.
In the end, though, the Sunrisers shouldn't have any reason to complain, barring of course, the two dropped catches. Had they been taken, the victory could've been a crushing one.