Wriddhiman Saha stamped his class with a 45-ball 87 while captain David Warner hit a quick-fire half-century as Sunrisers Hyderabad posted a mammoth 219 for two against Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League, in Dubai on Tuesday.
Warner (66), who looked in great nick, and Saha, playing his second game of the season, laid the base for Sunriser's huge total, the highest score in Dubai this season, while Manish Pandey (44 off 31balls) provided the final flourish in the team's must-win game.
Sent in to bat, both Warner and Saha went after the Delhi bowlers from the word go. Fully capitalising on the field restrictions, the duo smashed boundaries (11 fours and two sixes) every over to collect 77 runs in the first six overs—the best Powerplay figures of the season.
In the sixth over, Warner smashed the tournament's leading wicket-taker Kagiso Rabada (0/54) for four boundaries and a six, helping the Sunrisers reach 100 runs in just 8.4 overs.
Till Warner was taking on the bowlers, Saha played the second fiddle to perfection. The Australian celebrated his 34th birthday with a half-century off just 25 balls, hitting two sixes and eight fours at the Dubai International Stadium.
To Delhi's relief, Ravichandran Ashwin (1/35) broke the 107-run opening stand in the 10th over as he dismissed danger man Warner, who was caught at extra cover by Axar Patel.
With Warner gone, Saha hammered the Capitals bowlers all around the park. The wicketkeeper batsman reached his fifty in style with a boundary. He plundered 12 fours and two sixes before pacer Anrich Nortje (1/37) dismissed him in the 15th over.
Pandey and Kane Williamson (11 not out) continued the assault on a listless Delhi bowling unit.
