Pune 179-4 (Amla 96; Bhuvneshwar 2-32)
Hyderabad 180-3 (Warner 52, Yuvraj 42 not out)
Hyderabad win by 7 wickets
David Warner continued his superb form at the top of the order as he all but delivered Sunrisers Hyderabad to the Indian Premier League (IPL) play-offs on Sunday.
Captain Warner (52) scored his sixth half-century of the season as the table-toppers beat Kings XI Punjab by seven wickets, effectively burying their chances of progressing to the next round.
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Punjab won the toss and captain Murali Vijay opted to bat first. It seemed like the sensible thing to do as Mohali’s passionate cricket fans got to watch a masterclass from Hashim Amla. The South African, whose batting style is easy on the eye even in the worst of forms, hammered a 56-ball 96 that included two sixes and 14 fours. Vijay, a class act himself, missed out but there were cameos from fellow India bats Wriddhiman Saha and Gurkeerat Singh, both chipping in with scores of 27.
It was up to Warner then to lead the chase to overhaul what seemed like a winning Punjab total of 179. But such has been the Australian’s form in recent times, it was another brilliant effort from him on Sunday. There was help from opening partner Shikhar Dhawan (25). The young and promising Deepak Hooda contributed 34 and the veteran Yuvraj Singh – incidentally, a native of Punjab – revived memories of yore with a 24-ball 42, studded with three sixes and as many boundaries.
Warner conceded he was worried about the chase. “We thought 16o-165 was par. Credit to Hashim Amla – it was a fantastic knock,” the left-hander said. “The surface wasn’t bad. It was just slow, so it was hard as a bowling unit to adapt to those conditions.”
He also praised Hooda and Yuvraj for the manner in which they scored their runs. “It was fantastic for youngster Deepak Hooda to come out and play the way he did,” Warner added, “and then Yuvraj Singh, who has won so many matches for India.”
The southern Indian franchise have all but claimed the first place in the four-team play-offs, but there is a battle brewing mid-table, as four other sides are in with a chance to qualify. By the time we arrive at the business end of the competition, it is likely to come down to net run-rates, and Hyderabad are looking good in that aspect as well.
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