Swashbuckling opener David Warner blasted a whirlwind century to power Sunrisers Hyderabad to a convincing 48-run victory against Kolkata Knight Riders, in the Indian Premier League, in Hyderabad, on Sunday.
Skipper Warner led from the front as he blasted 10 fours and eight sixes in his 59-ball 126-run innings to propel the defending champions to a massive 209 for three after KKR captain Gautam Gambhir had elected to bowl.
In reply, KKR never really got going with the bat and managed just 161 for seven in their 20 overs with Robin Uthappa hitting a quickfire 53 from 28 balls.
KKR were reduced to 12 for two in the third over with both their openers -- Gambhir (11) and Sunil Narine (1) departing cheaply.
Robin Uthappa (53) and Manish Pandey (39) shared a 78-run partnership off 51 balls for the third wicket to keep KKR's hopes alive.
But after their dismissals, KKR kept losing wickets at regular intervals in the middle overs.
The fast bowlers caused the maximum damage as Mohammed Siraj (2/26), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/29) and Siddharth Kaul (2/26) picked up two wickets each, while Rashid Khan claimed a wicket.
There was also a rain-interruption of 42 minutes when KKR were 52 for two in seven overs with Uthappa and Pandey at the crease but it didn't affect the match as no overs were lost.
This was Sunrisers' sixth win in 10 matches, as they took their tally to 13 points to be placed third in the standings.
Despite the third loss in IPL 10, KKR continue to stay top with 14 points from 10 games.
Earlier, Warner and Shikhar Dhawan (29), who had forged a 107-run opening partnership in their last match against Kings XI Punjab, produced yet another scintillating 139-run opening partnership in 76 balls to set up the foundation.
Once they were back into the hut, Kane Williamson (40) used the long handle to good use, blasting five fours in his 25-ball innings and alongwith Yuvraj Singh (6 not out) took Sunrisers past the 200-mark.
This is the highest total in IPL-10 and also the third time that Sunrisers have scored a 200-plus total. They had scored 207 for three against Kings XI Punjab in their last match, besides scoring 207 for four against Royal Challengers Bangalore earlier in the season.
For KKR, who are sitting pretty at the top of the table, none of the bowlers could make any impression as they were taken to the cleaners by Warner.
Ppening the innings alongwith Dhawan, Warner put KKR bowlers to the sword right from the start as the duo amassed 79-0 in the six overs of Powerplay.
Warner made his intention clear from the start by dealing in boundaries. He picked up Chris Woakes for special treatment in the third over when he blasted him for a four and a couple of sixes to amass 17 runs.
Yusuf Pathan then came in his firing line as he smashed two fours and a six to once again pile on 17 runs and bring up the team fifty in just 23 balls.
The Australian then switch-hit Sunil Narine over short third man to race to his fifty from just 20 balls.
He continued his rampage and brought up the team 100 in the ninth over by hammering Nathan Coulter-Nile for a maximum over midwicket.
Chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav then bled 18 runs as Warner clobbered one boundary and two sixes in the 10th over.
In the 11th over, Warner picked up a couple of runs by sending Umesh Yadav to the deep midwicket area to score the third century of this season. The Australian savoured the moment by taking off his helmet and soaking in the environment at his home ground. He took just 43 balls for his hundred.
In the 13th over, Dhawan (29), who was playing the second fiddle, was run out as KKR finally broke the opening partnership.
It was Kuldeep, who produced a brilliant fielding where he picked up the ball from the fine leg fence and threw the stumps down at the bowler's end after Dhawan failed to make the ground.
Warner's sensational innings came to an end in the 17th over when once again looking for a six off Woakes he holed out to Gambhir.
