David Warner blasted a quickfire half-century before Sunrisers Hyderabad survived a sensational onslaught from David Miller to register a thrilling five-run victory against Kings XI Punjab and keep themselves in the hunt for a place in the play-offs of the Indian Premier League, in Hyderabad, on Monday.
- Scorecard
Hyderabad skipper Warner muscled his way to a blazing 81 from 52 balls as he yet again shouldered the responsibility of scoring runs, leading the hosts to a challenging 185 for five after electing to bat.
In reply, Punjab looked out of the contest for most part of their innings till Miller made his way to the crease and the left-hander played an breathtaking innings of 89 not out from just 44 balls to bring Punjab agonizingly close to a stunning win.
Punjab needed 28 from the last over and Miller nearly took them home with his blistering counter-attacj as he smashed the experienced Ishant Sharma for 22 with three sixes and a four in the final over.
In total, Miller hit nine sixes and two fours as Punjab finished on 180 for seven to suffer their ninth loss in 11 matches.
Earlier, Warner led Hyderabad's charge as he put on 56 runs for the first wicket with Shikhar Dhawan (24) and added 65 for the second with fellow Australian Moises Henriques (28).
Warner yet again shouldered the responsibility of scoring runs while opening the innings as he put on 56 runs for the first wicket with Shikhar Dhawan (24) and added another 65 for the second with fellow Australian Moises Henriques (28).
Warner cleared the ropes five times and hit six boundaries before being dismissed in the 18th over. He adopted a positive approach right from the start and Punjab bowlers were in for some severe punishment. The Australian left-hander pulled, cut and drove ferociously, hitting boundaries at regular intervals to keep the scoreboard ticking at a good rate.
Dhawan also played some delectable shots as Hyderabad raced past the 50-run mark inside the first five overs.
Glenn Maxwell check Hyderabad's charge as dismissed Dhawan stumped off the very first ball he bowled.
The spin trio of Gurkeerat Singh, Axar Patel and Maxwell managed to put a brake on the scoring rate in the middle overs.
Warner brought his fifty and team's hundred with a flat off-side six off Patel and lifted the left-arm spinner for another six over long on three balls later.
Gurkeerat was given the same treatment by Warner but the spinner got rid of Henriques for 28.
Eoin Morgan joined his skipper and the left-hander got down to business straightaway, hitting Maxwell for two sixes and a four.
Morgan, though, did not last long. He was scalped by Bueran Hendricks, thanks to a stunning catch in the deep by Manan Vohra.
The hosts also lost a bit of momentum towards the end as Warner and Naman Ojha were dismissed off consecutive deliveries, in the 18th over.
Lokesh Rahul (17) and Karn Sharma (11) added quick 28 runs for the sixth wicket to add some vital runs in the last couple of overs.
Punjab managed a good start through Murali Vijay (24) and Manan Vohra (20) but spinner Bipul Sharma scalped both the openers to peg back the visitors.
Kiwi pacer Trent Boult got rid of dangerman Glenn Maxwell (11) with a peach of delivery that bounced, kissed the shoulder of the bat and was taken by wicketkeeper Naman Ojha.
Young Lokesh Rahul pulled off a sharp low catch off Moises Henriques to send back Wriddhiman Saha (5) to leave Punjab gasping at 65 for four.
Captain George Bailey was also dismissed by Henriques, who bowled beautifully to finish with splendid figures of three for 16, while Bipul took two for 13.