IPL 9 SRH vs RCB: Sunrisers Hyderabad punish RCB
Skipper Warner, Williamson smash half-centuries as host pile up 194/5.
Hyderabad: Warner walloped. The dark horses galloped. That was pretty much the first half of the race between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore in which the hosts put up a smashing total — 194 for 5 — on Saturday night.
The clouds turned dark, intermittent drizzle delayed the game by an hour. Then, it was Orange all the way. Warner led from the front, nailing 92 in just 50 balls while Kiwi captain Kane Williamson caned 50 in 38 deliveries, seven of which went crashing to the boundary.
Moises Henriques then contributed a cameo (31 runs, 14 balls, 1x4, 3x6) that lifted the Eagles into the sky. Sunrisers began cautiously. Warner glanced Kane Richardson for a boundary off the second ball before passing the baton to his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan, who preferred to go straight down the ground off Shane Watson for a steady start. He then took the aerial route to hit off-spinner Parvez Rasool who was pressed into the attack in the third over itself.
However, Dhawan soon played one too high on the bat to offer a return catch to Kane Richardson, who gleefully accepted the chance as the hosts lost their first wicket at 28 in the fourth over.
The Power Play period was relatively sedate until Kohli introduced Harshal Patel in the sixth over. Warner pounced on the pacer to take 16 runs off it, including a free hit six, as the home total read a decent 49 for 1 after six overs.
Thereafter, Kiwi Kane joined Warner and the scoring rate took to flight. The two upped the tempo and shifted gears to leave the Bangalore bunch baffled.
Warner was particularly dangerous as boundaries and big hits flowed off his bat like bats out of hell. Nine such ones along the ground and five soaring slammers later, the captain fell with his side’s total reading a super strong 152 in the 16th over. That also ended a superfast 124-run stand for the second wicket that was rattled in just 74 balls.
Earlier, the Royal Challengers won the toss and decided to bowl. They did not field Chris Gayle while the Eagles left out Eoin Morgan to give Williamson his first game this season.