An unbeaten 58-ball 93 from David Warner single-handedly took the Sunrisers Hyderabad to their maiden IPL final; this was his eighth half-century of the season. The Aussie opener batted through a tense chase of 163 and he kept his cool while wickets at the other end kept falling at regular intervals. Warner led his team from the front to a four-wicket win.
This is also his highest score this season, and the left-hander is presently at second position in the race for the Orange Cap with 779 runs in 16 innings at an astonishing strike rate of 149.23. It was also the highest individual score by any player for Sunrisers this season and it came at a very apt time too, in the do-or-die second qualifier. Interestingly, the next four highest scores for SRH are also held by Warner, which shows how important he has been for them this season.
The hard-hitting Australian joined the elite list with his swashbuckling innings and became the fourth player to score 700 runs in a single IPL season. The others before him are Virat Kohli (919 runs in 2016), the self-proclaimed ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle (733 in 2012 and 708 in 2013) and ‘Mr. Cricket’ Michael Hussey (733 in 2013).
Warner held one end of the Hyderabad innings beautifully while players at other end perished at the hands of some irresponsible shots, making the target it difficult for SRH. After Naman Ojha was caught while lofting one towards deep mid wicket, Warner was not impressed at all and launched a few angry words to Tom Moody, the Sunrisers coach, who had come out with drinks and instructions. It was a no-brainer that Sunrisers needed their captain until the very end and he did not disappoint the Orange Army.
Sunrisers will meet Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday at the Chinnaswamy stadium, and they will hope that their captain leads them front the front like he has throughout the tournament. As the spectators were left in complete awe with an innings of pure, unadulterated quality, we have a look at their Twitter reactions:
His teammate and one of India’s greatest match winner, Yuvraj Singh, was extremely impressed with his match winning performance.
Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach, Tom Moody acknowledged his captain’s brilliance and the partnership between him and Bipul Sharma.
While Moises Henriques, Dave's Australian teammate, was just in awe.
Wristy Indian batsman and Sunrisers Hyderabad's mentor, the Very Very Special Laxman looked quite impressed with his performance as well.
Sunrisers Hyderabad's Twitter handle expressed happiness that they had Warner in their team.
Here are some other tweets from the Orange Army:
Also read: IPL 2016: Gujarat Lions VS Sunrisers Hyderabad - Twitter Reactions
