Australia batsman and Sun Risers Hyderabad’s captain, David Warner, once again did what he does the best on the cricket field, i.e., provide his team with the best of start at the top of the order. After being put in to bat Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain, Gautam Gambhir, Warner took on the opposition bowlers without giving a second thought.
Warner was severe on Chris Woakes and Yusuf Pathan in the third and fourth over, scoring 17 runs in both the overs respectively. Sunil Narine was introduced in the fifth over but it made on difference to Warner’s approach. To counter Narine, he introduced his switch-hit. A six on the first ball of the fifth over saw Warner raising his bat to the pavilion in a bid to celebrate his 36th half-century, which came in only 20 balls.
It was the joint-fastest half-century for Sun Risers Hyderabad. Moises Henriques and Warner himself achieved the feat in 2015 against RCB and CSK respectively. Warner also crossed the 1,000-run mark at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. The fierce start also saw the duo of Warner and Shikhar Dhawan complete 2000 partnership runs for the first wicket, the pair has become the first one to achieve the feat in T20 cricket.
But things were not just meant for the inception. Warner continued batting aggressively. He took another 23 balls to score his third IPL century (in 43 balls). He has drawn level with AB de Villiers as the joint third-highest number of centuries in the IPL. He also became the first Sun Risers Hyderabad batsman to score a century. His century off 43 balls was the fastest ever against KKR.
Warner had been amongst the runs in this IPL but the strike rate was comparatively lower for his standards. Just when critics had started to question his scoring rate, the 30-year old southpaw proved what he is best known for. Warner ended up scoring 126 (59) at a strike rate of 213.55. The innings comprised of 10 fours and eight sixes. Warner also beat Virender Sehwag’s 119 (in 2011) as the highest score by a captain in the IPL.
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— CricShots (@cric_shots) April 30, 2017
Video Credits – IPL.
Feature Image Source – iplt20.com (screen grab)
