Warner too hot, Sunrisers humble KKR by 48 runs

Photo: IPL

New Delhi: Sunrisers Hyderabad were at their clinical best as they humbled table toppers Kolkata Kinght Riders by 48 runs in a clash of heavyweights in Hyderabad.

The 210-run target appeared to be too much for Knight Riders as they only managed 161 for 7 in their allotted 20 overs. 

KKR never really threatened to challenge the mammoth total against a buoyed Sunrisers bowling attack. The Narine-Gambhir opening pair did not fire as the former was hold out at cover off an impressive Mohammad Siraj. Once the most threatening pair of Gambhir and Uthappa was separated as early as the third over of the innings, the capacity crowd at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium knew that it was just a matter of time.

Uthappa looked apart, displaying a wide range of shots before rain interrupted the play for about 45 minutes. Resuming at 52/2, Uthappa showed his brutal power by hitting couple of huge sixes over the mid-wicket boundary with one of them going 101 meters.

Sunirsers’ go to man Bhuvneshwar Kumar dashed all hopes of a possible chase when he got Manish Pandey (39) caught and bowled and broke the 78-run threatening partnership. 

With the asking rate over 12 runs per over, Uthappa played one shot too many and was hold out at long off for a well made 53.

The Sunrisers then applied the brakes on KKR and the visitors only managed to reach 161.

This was Sunrisers' sixth win in 10 matches. They now have 13 points and are placed at the third spot in the table. For two-time champions and table-toppers KKR, it is only their third loss in 10 matches.

Earlier, skipper Warner and Shikhar Dhawan (29), who had forged a 107-run opening partnership in their last match against KXIP, produced yet another scintillating 139-run opening partnership in 76 balls to set up the foundation.

Once they were back into the hut, Kane Williamson (40) used the long handle to good use, blasting five fours in his 25-ball innings and alongwith Yuvraj Singh (6 not out) took Sunrisers across the 200-mark.

This was the highest total in this season and also the third time that Sunrisers have scored a 200-plus total. They had scored 207-3 against Kings XI Punjab in their last match, besides scoring 207-4 against RCB early in the season.