Warner, Bairstow hand KKR 9-wkt defeat

Hyderabad, April 21 

Jonny Bairstow and David Warner continued their stellar run at the top as they powered Sunrisers Hyderbad to a nine-wicket win over struggling Kolkata Knight Riders in their IPL encounter.

Chasing a target of 160, Warner struck 67 off 38 balls hitting three fours and five sixes while Englishman Bairstow punished the hapless KKR attack with seven boundaries and four maximums in his unbeaten knock 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. 

KKR were sloppy in the field and ended up paying heavily for their mistakes. Bairstow was dropped twice, once on 5 by KC Cariappa off debutant Prithvi Raj’s delivery in the second over and then again on 58 by Piyush Chawla off Sunil Narine. Spinners Narine (0/34), Cariappa (0/34) and Chawla (0/38) gave away  106 runs in just nine overs. 

Yadav axed

Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav is expected to play a vital role in India’s World Cup campaign in England, but he was dropped for today's match after having taken only four wickets in the nine matches he has so far played in IPL-12. Prithvi Raj (1/29) got the only breakthrough for KKR, dismissing Warner, but it was a little too late as the hosts needed just 29 runs off 40 balls. With Warner gone, Kane Williamson (8 off 9 balls) walked in but the captain had little to do with Bairstow hitting a four and two sixes to seal the victory. — PTI