Yuvraj Singh Joins The Party As Warner Propels Sunrisers Into The PlayOffs…!!

Led by David Warner and some useful contributions from Shikhar Dhawan, Deepak Hooda, Yuvraj Singh and Cutting, Sunrisers Hyderabad won the match by seven wickets. With this loss, Kings XI Punjab are out of the tournament along with Rising Pune Supergiants. The victorious Sunrisers Hyderabad becomes the first team to qualify for the play-offs in this IPL.

Needing to score at nine runs per over, the Sunrisers were brisk at the beginning of their chase, with the opening pair of Warner and Shikhar Dhawan setting a sound platform. Warner interspersed his big shots with plenty of singles and not surprisingly dominated the opening partnership; he contributed 40 runs in the 68-run opening stand, while Dhawan picked up boundaries every now and then, but ensured he was always a run-a-ball. The KXIP bowlers seemed to have run out of ideas to dismiss the openers, when a piece of brilliance in the field in the eighth over put the lid on Dhawan’s innings; Mohit Sharma fired in a rocket throw from wide long-on and hit the stumps direct to catch Dhawan (25 from 22 balls) short of his ground.

Warner carried on and looked good for another big score. But against the run of play, in the thirteenth over, he trod onto his stumps – becoming the third SRH batsman to be dismissed ‘Hit Wicket’ this season – and had to walk back for 52 (41 balls, 5 fours, 1 six). Sunrisers’ decision to send in Deepak Hooda at number three clicked too, as the youngster made 34 from 22 balls, aided with three fours and a six. The 21-year old played a mature hand in stitching together partnerships of 29 and 42 with Warner and Yuvraj Singh respectively. But his dismissal in the 16th over – when he holed out to David Miller at midwicket – put the match in the balance yet again.

That’s when Yuvraj Singh took control of proceedings and saw his team past the finish line. The left-hander singled out Mohit Sharma for punishment; he hit the KXIP quick for a six and a four at the start of the eighteenth over to bring the required rate under control. And then again, when the bowler came on to bowl the final over – with 9 runs to defend – Yuvraj killed to contest in the first ball when he bludgeoned the ball into the stands at midwicket. The left-hander finished unbeaten on 42, made from 24 balls and studded with three fours and as many sixes. Ben Cutting (21 from 11 balls) hit the winning runs as Sunrisers Hyderabad got across the line with two balls to spare.

Earlier in the evening, on a pitch on which the ball stopped on occasions and stroke-making was difficult, Hashim Amla batted beautifully to pilot his team to 179-4. Amla opened up thereafter and improvised on occasions to pick up boundaries; he played the ramp shot, used the paddle shot and scooped the ball into the fine-leg boundary too. The 33-year old had the chance to score his maiden T20 century, but perished on 96 when he didn’t get sufficiently under the ball while attempting to hit the ball over long-off and found David Warner manning the boundary. Amla had consumed 56 balls and struck 14 fours and two sixes before he was dismissed with two balls remaining in the innings.