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Chandigarh: Propelled by brilliant half-centuries from Shikhar Dhawan (77), David Warner (51) and Kane Williamson (54), defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad recorded a convincing 26-run win over Kings XI Punjab at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in IPL 2017 on Friday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad clobbered the Kings XI Punjab bowlers to set up a massive target of 208 runs and Kings XI Punjab batsmen could not counter the brilliance of Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers, who managed to keep things tight. In the end, Kings XI Punjab finished on 181 for nine wickets, falling well short of the target. It was Sunrisers Hyderabad’s first away win in IPL 2017.
The David Warner-led team gave a scintillating performance with both bat and ball, while Siddharth Kaul and purple-cap holder Bhuvneshwar Kumar combined well and leg-spinner Rashid Khan impressed with his economical bowling. In his quota of four overs, Rashid gave away 16 runs and bagged a wicket of Eoin Morgan (26).
Shaun Marsh waged a lone battle for Kings XI Punjab as his 84-run knock went in vain. He stood like a rock at one end but lost partners at regular intervals. Marsh gave Sunrisers Hyderabad a run for their money with his aggressive knock. He was dropped twice—once on 60 by Deepak Hooda and the second time by Warner on 75.
Eventually, Bhuvneshwar grabbed Marsh’s wicket when Deepak Hooda caught him in the mid-wicket region in the 16th over of the innings. His valiant 49-ball knock included 14 fours and two sixes.
Kings XI Punjab missed the services of the in-form Hashim Amla, who missed the game due to a hamstring injury. Martin Guptill opened the innings with Manan Vohra. But the duo could not get its team off to a good start. Guptill made 23 while Manan was out for three runs. Bhuvneshwar claimed two wickets while Siddarth and Ashish Nehra scalped three wickets each.
Put into bat, Sunrisers Hyderabad openers Warner and Dhawan batted with swagger to put up a match-winning opening partnership of 107 runs which provided a launch pad to the visitors. Warner made 51 off 27 balls and his form rubbed off to Dhawan with the Indian hammering 77 runs, his highest knock this season.
With this fifty, Warner -- he was given a life when Wriddhiman Saha dropped a chance -- also became the first Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman to complete 25 fifties in IPL. He is currently tied with Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir on fifties in IPL, with both batsmen having made 35. Kane Willamson also joined the party and smashed an unbeaten, 27-ball 54 towards the end to propel his team past the 200-run mark.
After Warner was bowled by Maxwell, Dhawan took up the scoring Williamson. The duo added 40 runs. Dhawan’s 77 came off 48 balls. When Yuvraj Singh walked in, he was given a big cheer from the crowd. However, he could not contribute much and was removed by Maxwell for 15.
Brief scores
Sunrisers Hyderabad - 207/3 (Dhawan 77, Williamson 54*, Warner 51)
Kings XI Punjab - 181/9 (Marsh 84, Kaul 3-36, Nehra 3-42)
Result - Sunrisers Hyderabad won by 26 runs
