Sunrisers Hyderabad dismantled Punjab Kings by nine wickets at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday to register their first victory of the IPL 2021. The introduction of Kane Williamson in the batting unit proved to be fruitful for David Warner’s side as they won their first game of the season. He played his first game of the season and scored 16 runs off 19 balls.
Captain Warner and head coach Trevor Bayliss were heavily criticised for not including Williamson as the team suffered back-to-back defeats and were at the bottom of the table. Williamson had missed the first three games as Trevor Bayliss insisted that he needs some time to be completely fit. While talking to media after the game against Punjab Kings, Williamson provided an update on his injury.
“A bit of a minor injury on my elbow. It’s feeling pretty good. Nice to be out there and get my first opportunity, but nice mostly to learn from our previous games as a team. A lot of teams are trying to find their best balance, and I think we’ll see through the tournament that it’ll vary.”
It was a clinical and all-around performance from Hyderabad. Punjab Kings won the toss and opted to bat first Punjab got off to a bat start after their captain KL Rahul returned to the dugout after scoring just four runs. Khaleel Ahmed and Abhishek Sharma, with three and two wickets, respectively, restricted PBKS to just 120 all-out inside 20 overs.
This took the pressure off the shoulders of the batsmen as they didn’t have to chase a massive target. Warner (37) and Bairstow (63 not out) stitched a 73-run opening partnership and Williamson came to finish the job for them. They have climbed up to the fifth position on the league table after just win, courtesy of a good net run rate.
Kane Williamson has been part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad for a long time and has tons of experience when it comes to playing in India. He rose to the occasion wonderfully well in the IPL 2018 as he captained SRH to the final, in the absence of regular captain Warner. During this remarkable season, Williamson also scored 735 runs. Sunrisers need him to be fit for the entire IPL 2021 to have a chance of going all the way. After getting the first win, SRH will face in-form Delhi Capitals in their next match on Sunday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.