Openers Jonny Bairstow and David Warner got off to a flying start but Kings XI Punjab’s young bowlers pulled it back in the last 5 overs as Sunrisers Hyderabad posted 201/6 – their highest score in this Indian Premier League – on Thursday, 8 October.
Jonny Bairstow fell three runs short of scoring his maiden century this season but his 160-run opening stand with David Warner got the Sunrisers off to a flyer.
However, Ravi Bishnoi (3/29 in 3 overs) picked up three wickets, Arshdeep Singh (2/33) two and Mohammed Shami (1/40) one, in the last five overs to restrict their opponents.
Choosing to bat first, the opening duo of Bairstow and captain Warner took Sunrisers to 58/0 in the Powerplay at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Bairstow went on to score his fifth IPL half-century, and third this season, off 28 deliveries. Warner reached the 50-run mark off 37 deliveries – his ninth-straight half-century against KXIP.
The duo notched their fifth century stand in the IPL as Sunrisers reached 100/0 in 10 overs.
Young spinner Ravi Bishnoi gave KXIP a big breakthrough by removing both the opening batsmen in the 16th over.
Warner was caught out by Maxwell for 52 (off 40 balls) while Bairstow followed him back to the hut after getting trapped lbw. Bairstow’s 55-ball 97 included seven boundaries and six sixes while Warner hit five fours and a maximum.
Another young gun in the KXIP line-up, Arshdeep Singh struck in the next over to remove Manish Pandey for 1. From 160/0 in 15 overs, SRH were reduced to 161/3 in the gap of seven balls.
The 20-year-old Bishnoi – one of the big finds this season – returned to pick up another wicket in his third over, removing Abdul Samad for 8.
Next up, it was once again 21-year-old pacer Arshdeep who picked up another wicket for KXIP, sending Priyam Garg back for a golden duck.
Kane Williamson (10-ball 20*) and Abhishek Sharma added 24 runs in 9 balls before Shami removed the latter for 12 (off 6 balls).
Both sides are looking to bounce back from heavy defeats in their previous matches. While SRH lost to Mumbai Indians by 34 runs, KXIP lost to Chennai Super Kings by 10 wickets.
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