5 Best knocks by David Warner for Sunrisers Hyderabad

With the Sunrisers Hyderabad all set to open their IPL 2019 campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens, all eyes will be on David Warner, who is returning one year after the infamous ball-tampering saga forced him out of the game.

Undoubtedly, the southpaw has been the most valuable player for the Hyderabad-based franchise. He finished as the top run-getter for the team in every season he has played for them, having received the Orange Cap twice – in 2015 and 2017.

Warner has amassed 2579 runs for the franchise in 59 games – with an outstanding average of 52.63 and an even better strike rate of 147.70.

The highest point came when the Australian led the side to their first ever title win in 2016 – a season where he scored a staggering 848 runs.

Here is a look at David Warner’s five best innings for the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

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#5 61 (28) vs CSK: Match 34 (2015) at Hyderabad

Warner pounced on the short-pitched deliveries (courtesy: iplt20.com)

Without the services of David Warner in 2018, the Sunrisers had a surprisingly good season. They finished runners-up, but one fact glaringly stood out. They played CSK four times, and lost on all four occasions.

They were perhaps missing Warner, who has a few solid knocks against CSK to his name. One such knock was in Hyderabad in 2015, when his whirlwind innings blew the visitors apart.

Batting first, the hosts were probably looking to set CSK a target of around 170, but a pull by Warner towards square-leg for four in the very first delivery of the innings set the stage running for a big total.

Even though Shikhar Dhawan was looking rusty at the other end, Warner took the bulk of the strike and used the extra bounce in the Hyderabad pitch to his advantage. The southpaw scored a huge chunk of his boundaries through pulls, as the Chennai seamers unsuccessfully tried the short-ball tactic on him.

Though the Australian fell in only the ninth over, he had already blasted 11 fours and a six, scoring 61 off just 28 deliveries. The Sunrisers found themselves in a commanding position at 86 for one, from where the rest of the batsman propelled the score towards 192.

Chasing a high total, the Chennai batsman always found themselves playing catch-up with the run rate. With wickets falling at regular intervals, the visitors never got their chase going, eventually falling short of Hyderabad’s score by 22 runs.

Brief Scores: SRH 192/7 (Warner 61, Bravo 3/25) beat CSK 170/6 (Henriques 2/20)

#4 69(38) vs RCB: Final (2016) at Bengaluru

David Warner took a bold decision to bat first (courtesy: iplt20.com)

The high-scoring and equally entertaining final of the 2016 edition of the IPL saw David Warner-led Sunrisers Hyderabad pip RCB to lift their maiden title.

Though the match is thoroughly remembered for Ben Cutting's heroics with the bat and ball, it was an incredibly responsible innings from skipper Warner that set the tone.

Winning the toss, Warner took a bold decision by choosing to bat first on a flat Chinnaswamy track that had seen the home side breach the 200-run mark three times in the season. It would later turn out to be a master-stroke decision by Warner to back his bowling to defend the total.

The Sunrisers skipper made full use of the small Chinnaswamy boundaries, as he blasted eight fours and three sixes to bring up his ninth half-century of the season. He reached the landmark only in 24 deliveries - the joint fastest 50 in an IPL final.

The highlight of the innings was Warner's hitting down the ground. With RCB securely protecting his leg-side, the southpaw found a new way to get his runs as he stroked 31 runs in the 'V'. His cuts and drives on the off-side proved equally effective, bringing him 31 runs in the backward point-cover region.

By the time Warner got out in the 14th over, his 69(38) had taken the team to a solid score of 125/3, laying out a great platform for the final flourish from Ben Cutting.

Hyderabad's 208 proved to be too much for Kohli and co. as they faltered in the second half of the chase, eventually falling short of the target by eight runs.

Brief Scores: SRH 208/7 (Warner 69) beat RCB 200/7 (Gayle 76)

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#3 90 (45) vs CSK: Match 50 (2014) at Ranchi

Warner made the most of the opening opportunity (Courtesy: iplt20.com)

This devastating innings from David Warner proved why the diminutive southpaw is most effective when he plays at the top of the batting order. After experimenting with multiple opening pairs, the Sunrisers finally decided to go with the pair of Warner and Dhawan towards the fag end of the season.

Batting first, the Chennai Super Kings put up a mammoth 185 on the board. Hyderabad’s fragile middle-order made the target look even bigger. The fact that the game was a virtual do-or-die game for the Sunrisers made things look even bleaker.

Although, all the above apprehensions were laid to rest as soon as David Warner took strike, as he dispatched some pretty ordinary deliveries from the Chennai bowlers to all parts of the Ranchi stadium. He made full use of the flat track, getting the team off to a flier – 64 runs without any loss in the powerplay.

There was no stopping Warner as the boundaries kept flowing regularly from one end, with Shikhar Dhawan securely holding fort on the other. Warner stroked 12 fours and three huge sixes in his attacking innings. He particularly targeted his leg side, scoring 63 of his runs towards one side of the ground.

By the time Warner got out for 90 (45), Sunrisers had already raced away to 116 in only the 12th over. It was only a formality for Shikhar Dhawan, whose unbeaten knock of 64 saw the chase through for Hyderabad – thereby stunning hosts Chennai in an emphatic manner.

Brief Scores: CSK 185/3 (Dhoni 57*) lost to SRH 189/4 (Warner 90)

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#2 126 (59) vs KKR: Match 37 (2017) at Hyderabad

This was Warner's Maiden ton for SRH

Over the years, David Warner has transformed into the most dependable batsman for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. He has scored over 500 runs in every season for the franchise. Hence, it was surprising that he got his first century for the team only in 2017.

Taking on the Kolkata Knight Riders, who were sitting on top of the table, Sunrisers were put in to bat first. Though KKR’s attack was not as terrifying as that of the Sunrisers themselves, teams were having a hard time figuring out their spinners. Nathan Coulter-Nile was also proving to be very effective - having scalped 11 wickets in the last four games.

Warner though, had clearly other intentions. He brought out his attacking game from the very outset. He charged down on Coulter-Nile on the first ball of the innings, and then played some sensational switch-hits off Narine and Kuldeep as Hyderabad blasted their way to 79 without loss in the powerplay.

The end of the field restrictions did not end KKR’s misery, as Warner kept punishing the bad balls, and outsmarting the bowlers to get boundaries even on the good deliveries. The best part about Warner’s innings was his fantastic reading of the spinners. Picking up both Narine and Kuldeep’s variations with ease, he broke the backbone of the visitors’ bowling.

Even though Dhawan played a sluggish innings, Warner farmed the strike, not letting the former’s rustiness impact the team total.

Warner got to his maiden ton for SRH in the 11th over, taking only 43 deliveries in the process. The stage looked set for a double ton as more than nine overs remained, but Warner soon perished for 126, hitting a whopping 10 fours and eight sixes during the course of his innings.

Kane Willamson then played a classy knock of 40 from just 25 deliveries to push the Sunrisers score to 209. KKR succumbed to the might of the hosts’ bowling as they managed only 161 for seven in their 20 overs.

Brief Scores: SRH 209/3 (Warner 126, Bravo 3/25) beat KKR 161/7 (Uthappa 53, Siraj 2/26)

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#1 93* (58) vs GL: Qualifier 2 (2016) at Delhi

Warner single-handedly won the game for SRH

Perhaps one of the best T20 innings till date, this explosive knock by Warner ensured the Sunrisers found a place in 2016 final, which they eventually won.

Coming off a comfortable win against KKR in the Eliminator, Warner and his men found a stiffer opponent in Gujarat Lions in the second Qualifier at the Feroz Shah Kotla.

Following yet another credible performance by the Sunrisers bowlers, Gujarat were restricted to a sub-par 162.

Hyderabad's chase got off to a horrendous start as they lost Shikhar Dhawan with only six on the board. Skipper Warner held the innings together, forging brief partnerships, even as the team lost three wickets in the span of four overs to be reduced to 84 for five.

With Naman Ojha falling briefly after, the Sunrisers were down and out - reeling at 117 for six, with only the bowlers to give Warner company. Unexpectedly though, this would be the last Sunrisers wicket to fall.

Warner found an amazingly atypical ally in left-arm tweaker Bipul Sharma, whose willow had never been in the scheme of things for the team.

When Sharma came in, Hyderabad required 46 off 25 deliveries, but thanks to some big hitting from both the southpaws, they romped home with four balls to spare.

It was almost poetic that Warner got the innings underway with a boundary off the first ball of the innings, and finished the chase himself in the final over.

The Gujarat bowlers found no answers to Warner's superlative knock of 93*(58), which was laced with 11 hits to the fence, and three over it.

Brief Scores: GL 162/7 (Finch 50, Cutting 2/20) lost to SRH 163/6 (Warner 93, Kaushik 2/22)