SunRisers Hyderabad beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 9 wickets with 5 overs to spare at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad in the first of two Indian Premier League (IPL) matches on Sunday.
SRH return to the top four with this win, and they also havea game in hand over the other teams. As for KKR, this was their fifthconsecutive defeat and their campaign is now in tatters. They are stuck onsixth spot on the IPL points table with 8 points, having played a match morethan the other teams.
Chasing a target of 160, Warner struck 67 off 38 ballshitting three fours and five sixes while Englishman Bairstow punished thehapless KKR attack with seven boundaries and four maximums in his unbeatenknock of 80 off 43 balls.
The openers looked in command as the target was achieved in 15 overs largely due to their 131-run stand. The duo had guided SRH to victories against Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals in similar fashion. KKR were sloppy in the field and ended up paying heavily for their mistakes. Bairstow was dropped twice, once on 5 by Cariappa off debutant Prithviraj’s delivery in the second over and then again on 58 by Piyush Chawla off Sunil Narine.