David Warner's fighting knock of 61 off 49 balls helped Sunrisers Hyderabad post a challenging 155 for six in their Indian Premier League match against Royal Challengers Bangalore here today.
Warner hit four boundaries and three sixes as he steadied Hyderabad innings, along with captain Shikhar Dhawan (37 off 36 balls) with a 62-run partnership for third wicket at the Chinnaswamy stadium.
Put into bat, Hyderabad lost their in-form opener Aaron Finch (13) and Lokesh Rahul (6) early as they were reduced to 29 for two in four overs. Mitchel Starc and Ashoke Dinda (1/39) accounted for both the batsmen.
Australian pacer Starc (2/21) had Finch caught behind by Parthiv Patel and then Dinda sent back local lad Rahul as he fished at an out-going bowl to Chris Gayle at first slip.
Warner, who survived a scare while on six when he played an uppish shot, and Dhawan provided stability for the visitors by adding 62 runs for third wicket in the next nine overs.
Both played some effective shots during their partnership and prominent among those were the boundaries scored off Varun Aaron (2/33) and Harshel Patel (1/29).
A moment of indiscretion cost Dhawan his wicket as he pulled one off Aaron straight into the hands of A B de Villiers who was standing at deep mid-wicket after making 37 off 36 balls with four hits to the fence.
But Warner continued to fight as he smashed Yuzvendra Chahal for a six over the bowler's head and followed it up by accumulating seven more runs. He was ultimately castled by Starc in the last over of the innings.
Darren Sammy then smashed a flat over long-off for a six to prop up Hyderabad's innings but was holed out by Starc off Harshal Patel in deep mid-wicket for eight in as many balls in 16th over.
Naman Ojha looked in good nick and contributed 15 runs off 11 balls, which included a gentle guide into the Hyderabad dug-out for a boundary and a six, before he was caught by Starc at third-man fence off Aaron.
