Abu Dhabi: Opener Jonny Bairstow scored his second fifty of the tournament as Sunrisers Hyderabad posted a competitive 162 for four against Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League here on Tuesday.
Bairstow smashed two fours and one six in his 48-ball 53 and shared two crucial partnerships — 77 off 57 balls with David Warner (45 off 33) for the opening stand and 52 off 38 balls with Kane Williamson (41 off 26) for the third wicket.
Making his IPL debut, Jammu and Kashmir’s Abdul Samad (12 off 7) blasted a four and six in his useful cameo.
Put into bat, Warner and Bairstow were circumspect with the pace trio of Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada (2/21), and Anrich Nortje maintaining their line and length.
The result was Sunrisers could only score 38 in the powerplay, which yielded just two fours and a six — all hit by Warner.
Bairstow picked his first boundary in the seventh over, launching a slog sweep for a six off leg-spinner Amit Mishra (2/35).
The duo tried to make up for the lack of boundaries on the slow track with their excellent running between the wickets to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Warner sent one straight over Ishant’s head for his second six and then picked a four off Mishra with a reverse sweep but the spinner had the last laugh as he had him caught behind with SRH reaching 82 for one in 10 overs.
Mishra returned to dismiss Manish Pandey (3) before Sunrisers crossed the 100-mark in 14th over.
Playing his first match of the season after recovering from an injury, Williamson smashed two fours in the 16th over to take SRH to 128 for two.
Bairstow reached his fifty off 44 balls before holding out to Nortje in the 18th over. Williamson too was dismissed in the last over.