IPL 2019: Match 48, SRH vs KXIP, Review – David Warner flings Hyderabad closer to the playoffs before his departure

In 12 games, David Warner has scored 692 runs while the man at the second spot, Andre Russell, scored 486 runs.

Published - 30 Apr 2019, 00:01 IST | Updated - 30 Apr 2019, 00:01 IST

3 Min Read

The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) had an uphill task to accomplish in the game against the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). It was a must-win game for the ‘Men in Orange’ otherwise which they would have been thrown out of the top four. And in this high-pressure encounter, they responded beautifully and registered a massive 45-run win. In his last game this season, David Warner played a terrific knock and placed his team in a very good position before his departure.

The Sunrisers will next face Mumbai and Bangalore away from home and need to win at least one of those. Since they’ve got a very good net run rate, their odds of making it into the playoffs have increased after this battle. KL Rahul put up a valiant fight in this game for his team. However, he had no support from the other end and couldn’t do it all by himself.

David Warner finishes the spectacular season on a high

The home team was put into bat first by the opposition and it worked out to be a blessing in disguise for them. Wriddhiman Saha, who opened the innings, went bonkers after the bowlers straightaway. He scored 28 runs from 13 balls and gave a headstart to SRH. In just 6.2 overs, the openers added 78 runs before the wicket-keeper batsman fell. Manish Pandey carried on with his fine form and was involved in an 82-run partnership with Warner.

However, the new number three batsman for SRH failed to make it a hattrick of fifties as he got out for 36. In the same over, David Warner also got out for 81. The middle order was exposed yet again and they failed to finish well. What should have been something around 230 was restricted to 212/6 in 20 overs. While Mohammad Nabi scored 20 from 10 balls, Kane Williamson got 14 runs in 7 balls.

Rashid Khan breaks the back of the visitors as KL Rahul’s efforts go vain

This was a massive chase for KXIP and they needed Chris Gayle to fire if they were to make an impact. However, the Jamaican got out in the third over for 4 runs. Mayank Agarwal and Nicholas Pooran got off to starts but failed to make it big. While the former scored 27 from 18 balls, the Caribbean got 21 runs from just 10 balls. Rashid then broke the back of the visitors by picking up both David Miller and Ravichandran Ashwin off consecutive deliveries. The Afghan conceded only 21 runs in his four overs and picked up three wickets.

KL Rahul was the lone warrior for Punjab in this encounter. However, he started slow and scored the first thirty runs at almost run-a-ball. Thus, by the time he decided to shift the gears, the asking rate was almost out of reach. He had the debutant Prabhsimran Singh for company in the final few overs who couldn’t really get going. Rahul tried hard but he could take his team nowhere close to the target. He perished in the penultimate over after scoring 79 runs.