David Warner bounces back to lead Sunrisers Hyderabad to victory over Chennai Super Kings

Aditya Devavrat 02:04 18/04/2019
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  • David Warner and Jonny Bairstow.

    David Warner was pleased to be back to his free-flowing best as Sunrisers Hyderabad ended a run of three straight losses with a dominant victory over Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday that got their IPL 2019 campaign back on track as they moved to within two points of the play-off places.

    Set a low target of 133 after the Sunrisers’ bowlers restricted the Super Kings to just 52 runs in the last 10 overs of their innings, Warner and opening partner Jonny Bairstow made sure there were no hiccups with a swashbuckling opening stand of 66 from just 34 balls.

    “Sometimes we have been a bit hesitant,” Warner admitted, after his previous two innings had brought substantial scores but at a slower strike rate – 51 off 47 against Delhi Capitals and 70 off 62 against Kings XI Punjab. “Against Kings [XI Punjab] the wicket was quite tough.”

    Warner, who leads the IPL 2019 run charts, praised Bairstow’s contributions to their opening partnerships, adding: “Me and Jonny have been mixing and matching quite well. Here the wicket was two-paced.”

    The England batsman’s 61 off 44 made sure the innings didn’t lose momentum after Warner fell and it was he who hit the winning runs, wrapping up the game with a towering six to put the seal on a comprehensive victory.

    Bairstow credited Sunrisers’ bowlers for taking control of the game in the back end of CSK’s innings, and said the three-game losing streak had not worn heavily on the team.

    “Fantastic effort by bowlers to restrict them to 60-65 in the last 11 overs. Not sure what changed but I think we were more ruthless today,” the wicket-keeper said, singling out Rashid Khan for praise after the leg-spinner’s 2/17 turned the game in Sunrisers’ favour.

    “It’s challenging facing Rashid in the nets and keeping to him in the match.”

    It was a sentiment echoed by Bairstow’s captain, with Kane Williamson delighted by Khan’s performance and the all-around display from his side.

    “Rashid has been an outstanding performer for a number of years. He was brilliant today,” the Sunrisers skipper enthused.

    “Very good performance all around. CSK started well with the bat but the way we performed in the back half was outstanding and the chase was superb. I don’t think the wicket changed too much. Warner was brilliant. A match-winning knock with Jonny.”

    Williamson’s opposite number, Suresh Raina – becoming the first person other than Mahendra Singh Dhoni to captain Chennai since 2010, as Dhoni sat the game out with back spasms – was disappointed by his side’s batting display, as the Super Kings frittered away an excellent platform provided by the openers, who put on 70 together.

    Chennai were 80/1 at the end of the 10th over and looking set to score around 170, but the new batsmen who came in after Shane Watson and then Faf du Plessis were dismissed failed to get going.

    “I think we should have rotated the strike more,” Raina said. “That’s why we were 30 runs short.”

    “But a great wake up call for us,” he added, as the table-topping Super Kings suffered only their second loss of the season.

    Raina also provided an update on the fitness of Chennai’s talisman and regular skipper, reassuring CSK fans that their favourite player would be back soon. “Dhoni is fit now and might play the next game,” the veteran batsman confirmed.

    The former India batsman was full of praise for the Super Kings’ own star leg-spinner, with Imran Tahir once again among the wickets and matching opposite number Khan’s incisive spell with figures of 2/20, though it wasn’t enough to help Chennai avoid defeat.

    “Tahir has been giving us a lot of breakthroughs and he did it today as well,” Raina exclaimed. “Whenever you need a wicket, you throw the ball to him and he gives you a wicket.”

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