Sunrisers Hyderabad raced past their third victory of IPL 2020 as they defeated Kings XI Punjab by 69 runs on Thursday. It was the complete package from the SRH players with a mix of masterful batting and bowling in a thumping victory.
Earlier, SRH skipper David Warner had won the toss and decided to bat in Dubai International Stadium. Jonny Bairstow and David Warner gave a sparkling start to the side and stitched 150+ partnership for the first wicket.
Jonny Bairstow was in a feathery touch with the bat as he punished the KXIP bowlers by carting their deliveries for the runs. Bairstow scored 97 runs off 55 balls before Ravi Bishnoi trapped him in the 16th over. His inning was studded with 7 boundaries and 6 sixes with a strike rate of 176.36.
Sunrisers Hyderabad put up 201/6 after the end of 20 overs owing to a brilliant start from the openers. KXIP did not have a merry start during the chase after Mayank Agarwal got run out in due to a miscommunication in the 2nd over.
The side never seemed to put up a fighting show except Nicholas Pooran’s 77 runs off 37 balls. The left-hander smacked 7 sixes and five boundaries and also scored the fastest fifty in IPL 2020 off just 17 balls.
No other batsman was able to go past the score of 20 runs in front of the ruthless SRH bowlers. Rashid Khan took 3/12 and removed Pooran, Mandeep Singh and Mohammad Shami in his spell.
Subsequently, KXIP lost the match by 69 runs and also lost their fifth match on the trot. It was yet another batting collapse leading to another loss in the tournament.
Jonny Bairstow became the player of the match for his knock of 97 runs and also missed his well-deserved century by just three runs.
