The defending champions, Sunrisers Hyderabad have further solidified their grasp for the play-off spots of this year’s IPL as they beat Kings XI Punjab by 26 runs. After being put in to bat first, David Warner and his men posted an incredible total of 207 runs.
Chasing anything over 200 is a difficult ask in T20s and that is precisely what the KXIP showed as they fell short by 26 runs in the end despite the heroics of Shaun Marsh.
With this win, the Sunrisers are clear at number 3 on the table while Punjab linger at 7th.
Extra Cover: IPL 2017: KXIP vs SRH, 5 things that went wrong for Kings XI Punjab
Here are 5 memorable moments from the match that don't fade away, quite like the Axe Signature range of body perfumes.
#1 Sunrisers’ opening delight
David Warner has always been one of the best and most consistent players in the Indian Premier League. It is hard to remember the last time he had a bad season in the competition. Shikhar Dhawan, however, has been a little inconsistent.
However, what can’t be denied is that when these two batsmen are in flow, they are perhaps the best opening pair to watch. And today was just one of those glorious days for Hyderabad.
With an opening partnership of 107 runs, Warner and Dhawan gave their team the best start they could possibly have asked for. While the Australian made 51 off 27 balls, Dhawan smashed 77 runs off 48 balls, which allowed…
#2 Kane Williamson to continue his fine form
There was once a time when great Test players weren’t highly regarded when it came to T20s. The likes of VVS Laxman, Ricky Ponting and Brian Lara could never really translate their legendary abilities from Tests to T20s.
However, there is now a wave of Test specialists who are also just as good in the 20-over version of the game. One of them is Kane Williamson. The New Zealander has been in absolutely amazing form so far in this IPL and he continued that in this game too.
His 27-ball 54 shot the score of the Sunrisers to a mammoth 207. His innings consisted of four boundaries and two sixes.
#3 Maxwell puts in a good shift
Normally, when something is written about Glenn Maxwell, it is mostly plaudits about his striking or criticism surrounding his inconsistency with the bat. However, in this case, things turned out differently as the Punjab captain was his team’s best bowler tonight.
He might have scored a duck with the bat, but the Aussie finished with figures of 4-0-29-2, plucking the important wickets of David Warner and Yuvraj Singh. Considering that the Sunrisers scored more than 200 runs, his economy rate of 7.25 has to be the subject of much applause.
#4 Shaun Marsh special
Shaun Marsh is one of many players who burst into the limelight with the help of the Indian Premier League. His very first season in the league was one of the finest a player ever had in the tournament. However, he couldn’t replicate such feats in the following seasons.
In today’s game, though, we saw a glimpse of the old Marsh. In his 50-ball 84, he played an array of shots to hit 14 boundaries and two sixes, which helped KXIP come close to chasing down the total.
#5 Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s fine spell
The pitch in Mohali is a bowler’s graveyard. In such a scenario, not giving away runs is the most admirable thing a bowler can do. However, if a bowler takes wickets in addition to that, things just become outstanding.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s spell tonight was a testament to just that. Not only did he take the two most important wickets of Martin Guptill and the in-form Shaun Marsh, he also gave away only 29 runs in his spell of 4 overs.
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