Mohali: Sunrisers Hyderabad produced a solid batting performance to beat Kings XI Punjab by seven wickets and virtually secure their place in the knock-out stage of the ongoing Indian Premier League, here on Sunday.
Chasing a challenging 180 for win, skipper David Warner led from the front scoring 52 off 41 balls while Yuvraj Singh made unbeaten 42 off just 24 deliveries as Sunrisers comfortably overwhelmed the target, reaching 183 for three in 19.4 overs.
With this win, Sunrisers are all but through to the knockouts and are currently atop the standings with 16 points from 12 games. The loss means Kings XI became the second team after Rising Pune Supergiants to be eliminated.
Earlier, Hashim Amla smashed a quickfire 96 off just 56 deliveries to help Kings XI post 179 for four after Murali Vijay won the toss and elected to bat.
But Sunrisers looked in total control throughout the chase with Warner and Shikhar Dhawan (25 off 22 balls) putting on 68 runs in eight overs for the opening stand.
A Mohit Sharma direct throw from long-on cut short the opening partnership with Dhawan falling short off the crease by a margin at the non-striker’s end.
But Warner, who brought up his 50 in 38 balls, continued to build up the innings along with Deepak Hooda, who made 34 off 22 deliveries with the help of three fours and one six.
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel gave Kings XI the crucial breakthrough of Warner in the 13th over when the Australian left-hander was dismissed hit wicket as he went far too deep inside his crease while trying to play a shot.
At 97/2 and needing 83 off 47 balls, Yuvraj joined Hooda at the crease. With Sunrisers needing 50 runs in the last five overs, Hooda smashed Marcus Stoinis for two boundaries to bring down the equation.
However, Hooda departed in a bid to accelerate when he lobbed a Sandeep Sharma delivery to David Miller at deep midwicket. But that was all Kings XI bowlers could manage as from there on it was all Yuvraj show.
In the company of Ben Cutting (18 not out off 11), Yuvraj shared 41 runs off the final four overs to guide Sunrisers home. Hashim Amla, who bagged the Man of the Match for his 56-ball 96, said he was disappointed. “Yuvraj played an exceptional knock to get his side over the line. I came from not hitting too many balls back home to the IPL, so it was good to get some runs. I’m happy to get this award, but hopefully we can get some wins in our remaining games.
“You have to play differently in T20s, there’s no doubt about it. You have to be prepared to take risks. Some-times it works for you, at other times it doesn’t. Meanwhile, victorious skipper David Warner said he was a bit worried after their bowling display. “We thought 160-165 was par, credit to Hashim Amla, it was a fantastic knock.
The surface wasn’t bad, it was just slow. It was fantastic for Deepak Hooda to come out and play the way he did,” he said.
