David Warner scored a scintillating 92 and Kane Williamson made a disciplined 50 to launch Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to a massive 194 for 5 against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Match 27 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016 at Hyderabad. Warner showed his intent early by hitting a boundary off only the second ball of the innings, bowled by Kane Williamson. Shikhar Dhawan looked in decent nick as well, hitting Shane Watson for a boundary in the next over. Parvez Rasool was hit over mid on as well by Dhawan. Warner pulled Richardson for another four in the following over, but Richardson managed to get Dhawan out caught and bowled to give RCB their first wicket. It would be the only cause for celebration for more than 10 overs. Live Cricket Scorecard: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2016 Match 27 at Hyderabad
Kane Williamson, playing only his third IPL match and his first of the season, came in to bat at No. 3 for SRH. Varun Aaron dragged things back slightly with a 5-run over, but Harshal Patel was hit for 2 fours and 1 six as 16 runs were scored off the next over. Warner was batting fluently by now, and he made sure Tabraiz Shamsi did not settle in his next over, cutting the Chinaman for a boundary. Parvez Rasool continued his impressive spell with another quiet over from the other end, but Warner hit Aaron for 2 fours in the next over. The trend continued for much of the innings: a quiet over was often followed by an expensive one so SRH ensured the momentum kept flowing. Live Cricket Blog: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2016 Match 27 at Hyderabad
Warner and Williamson went from strength to strength, with the former finding the boundary with ridiculous ease, and the latter churning the strike with ease. The duo put on 124 runs in quick time before Warner’s blitz finally came to an end. It was the impressive Shamsi who finally got rid of the SRH captain, getting him to slice one to AB de Villiers at long off. Warner had hit 9 fours and 5 sixes, one of which was almost a helicopter shot played from outside off stump over cow corner. Warner also usurped Virat Kohli as the holder of the Orange Cap in the course of his knock.
Williamson soon compiled his maiden IPL half-century, off 37 balls. However, he was dismissed off the next ball, feathering an outside edge off Watson to wicketkeeper KL Rahul. SRH had suddenly lost both their set batsmen and the total of 200, which looked like a probability a couple of overs ago, now seemed unlikely. Naman Ojha was soon dismissed as well, holing out to de Villiers at long on off Richardson. Deepak Hooda was run out for 2 in the final over.
However, SRH still had one ace up their sleeve. Moises Henriques, who had done little of note till this point in the tournament, finally showed why he was preferred over Eoin Morgan in the team. The all-rounder smashed 1 four and 3 sixes in an innings of 31 not out off just 14 balls. It was not enough to get 200, but it still gave SRH a huge total to defend.
Brief scores:
Sunrisers Hyderabad 194 for 5 in 20 overs (David Warner 92, Kane Williamson 50; Kane Richardson 2 for 45) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore.
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is an animal lover and comic, film and TV geek. A fast bowler at heart, he enjoys watching a good, low-scoring game of cricket. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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