David Warner gives special mention to Kane Williamson for anchoring SRH's chase

Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper David Warner gave special mention to star batsman Kane Williamson for taking the team over the line in their IPL 2021 clash against Punjab Kings at MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday. Williamson, who was playing his first match of the season successfully anchored SRH's run chase on a tough batting surface.

'He just knows his role and game plan': David Warner

"The game plan of having him (Kane Williamson)  there is obviously to anchor the game and he rotates strike so well. Against spin, he gets forward and gets back, he just knows his role and game plan. It's handy having him in the middle", said Warner during the post-match interview.

After having lost the wicket of Warner, the New Zealand skipper came out to bat at number three and played a great supporting role to Jonny Bairstow, and ensured that Hyderabad did not have any more hiccups during their modest chase of 121 on a tricky Chepauk wicket.

SRH get off the mark in IPL 2021

Prior to their match against the 2014 finalists, the Hyderabad-based franchise had lost all their previous three matches this season. Coming back to the contest, PBKS skipper KL Rahul won the toss and decided to bat first. However, his decision backfired as Punjab's famed batting line-up was bamboozled by the SRH spinners as they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and were in a spot of bother at 82/6 in the 14th over. Nonetheless, their new recruit and middle-order batsman Shahrukh Khan's 17-ball 22 helped Punjab Kings post a respectable total of 120.

In reply, the Orange Army got off to a good start as Warner and Jonny Bairstow added 73 runs for the opening stand. Bairstow remained unbeaten on a 56-ball 63 as the 2016 winners crossed the finish line by nine wickets and eight balls to spare and thereby, earned their first two points of IPL 2021.

(Image Courtesy: @Sunrisers/Twitter)