Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad registered their first win of the Indian Premier League Season 9, as David Warner led from the front and played a match-winning knock of 90* to beat Mumbai Indians by seven wickets at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad on Monday.
The intent was clearly evident right from the start as Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled the very first over of the match against the Rohit Sharma & Co. Playing on their home ground in Hyderabad, Sunrisers hardly put a foot wrong against the defending champion Mumbai Indians in Match No. 12 of VIVO IPL T20 2016. After restricting the strong Mumbai line-up to a score of 142/6 in 20 overs, Warner led his team to the victory with 7 wickets in hand and 15 balls to spare.
Chasing a total of 143 was not an easy task as it required a couple of good partnerships in the middle to take the side home. David Warner once again showed why he is one of the most dangerous players in the T20 format of the game. The Aussie showed tremendous determination and skill to take his side to victory comfortably with more than two overs to spare. Warner played an unbeaten knock 90 off just 59 deliveries at a healthy strike rate of 152.54 that helped SRH to register their first points of the IPL season 9.
Warner's Wagon Wheel
After the early dismissal of Shikhar Dhawan, Warner batted sensibly right through the innings and played each ball on merit that worked wonderfully in the favour of the home side. He built crucial partnerships with Henriques, Morgan and with Hooda that ensured the victory for the Sunrisers camp. During his innings of 90*, Warner registered his 27th IPL half-century and he’s right behind Gambhir now on the all-time list of most number fifties in Indian Premier League. Also, another interesting fact says, Warner becomes the second best batsman in the IPL history to cross 75+ scores for the 9th time, whereas Chris Henry Gayle tops the chart with 17 times. Warner also has the most number of 90+ scores in IPL and the record is shared with a fellow Aussie teammate Glenn Maxwell.
For his incredible performance, Warner won the Man-of-the Match award for his side. Also, David Warner has won the Orange Cap in the previous edition of the Indian Premier League 2015, where he scored 562 runs in 14 games at an outstanding average of 43.23. The skipper will be the man to watch out for Sunrisers in the upcoming fixtures as well.
