David Warner and Jonny Bairstow’s 160-run opening stand proved to be the clincher as the Sunrisers Hyderabad beat the Kings XI Punjab by a massive 69-run margin in Match 22 of IPL 2020 at the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday.
SRH’s third-biggest IPL win – in terms of runs – moved them up to third in the points table while KXIP’s misery continued. The KL Rahul-led side is in eighth position, having won just one of the six matches played.
After the Chennai Super Kings scored 181 runs without losing a wicket against KXIP on Sunday, captain Warner (52 off 40 balls) and Bairstow (97 off 55 balls) followed suit as SRH reached 160 for no loss at the end of 15 overs. Led by leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi (3 for 29) and pacer Arshdeep Singh (2 for 33), KXIP pulled things back in the death overs to restrict SRH to 201 for 6.
The run-chase started with a mix-up between the KXIP openers which eventually led to Mayank Agarwal running himself out with 11 runs on the board. It went downhill from there as KXIP lost wickets at regular intervals.
Nicholas Pooran (77 off 37 balls) tried his best to keep his side in the game, but the pressure of losing partners at the other end had him throw his wicket away. This was the final nail in KXIP's coffin, as they lost the next three wickets for just six runs.
While left-arm pacers Khaleel Ahmed (2 for 24) and T Natarajan (2 for 24) picked up a brace each, Rashid Khan was once again the pick of the bowlers, having returned figures of 3 for 12, including a double-wicket maiden.
SRH openers in top 5; T Natarajan breaks into the top 10 of the IPL 2020 bowling charts
The Karnataka duo of KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal failed to go big tonight, thus leaving them in first and third positions respectively on the IPL 2020 Orange Cap list. While Agarwal added nine runs to his earlier tally of 272 runs, Rahul is on 313 runs – 14 ahead of second-placed Faf du Plessis.
The 160-run first-wicket partnership catapulted Bairstow and Warner to fourth and fifth positions respectively in the batting charts. While Man of the Match Bairstow’s 55-ball 97 took his aggregate to 241 runs from six matches, Warner now has 227 runs under his belt.
For the losing side, Nicholas Pooran’s maiden IPL fifty, which was also the fastest half-century (off 17 balls) in IPL 2020, came on the back of a few whirlwind cameos in earlier matches. The southpaw moved up to seventh position, having scored 196 runs from the six matches so far.
There wasn’t any change at the top of the IPL 2020 Purple Cap list as Kagiso Rabada, with a tally of 12 wickets, kept possession of the cap.
However, Rashid Khan’s best figures of the season helped him jump to sixth in the table with 8 wickets from six games, while his teammate T Natarajan became the latest entrant into the top 10. The fast bowler has scalped 7 wickets in six games and occupies the tenth position in the table.
Mohammad Shami is the sole representative for KXIP in the top 10 of the IPL 2020 Purple Cap list. He has picked up 9 wickets so far, while his teammate Ravi Bishnoi is on 7 wickets and placed one spot below Natarajan by virtue of higher bowling average.
There will be plenty of action tomorrow as the Rajasthan Royals take on the Delhi Capitals in Sharjah. While Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer would look to make the most of the smaller dimensions, Rabada would aim to extend the lead at the top of the wicket-takers list.
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