Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner has become the first-ever player in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL) to score 500+ runs in six consecutive seasons.
The Australian opener reached the milestone after playing a blitzkrieg knock of 85 runs off 58 deliveries during Hyderabad’s 10-wicket win over Mumbai Indians at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
In 14 matches so far this season, the left-handed batsman has amassed 529 runs and is second in the list for the race for the Orange Cap.
In 2019 IPL season, the Australian opener had scored 692 runs in 12 matches at a brilliant average of over 69. He was not part of the 2018 IPL as he was serving a one-year ban for his involvement in the Sandpaper Gate controversy.
In 2017 Warner amassed 641 runs, 848 in 2016, 562 in 2015 and 528 in 2014. In a total of 140 IPL matches, Warner has scored 5,235 runs, including four hundreds.
The win at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium helped Hyderabad take their points tally to 14 from as many matches. However, due to a better net run-rate, Warner’s men qualified for the next stages ahead of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
In what was a must win game for them, Hyderabad restricted the strong Mumbai unit to a paltry total of 149/8. Shabaaz Nadeem, who was eventually declared the man of the match, took 2/19. Sandeep Sharma took 3/34, while Jason Holder returned with 2/25.
Chasing, Hyderabad rode on the brilliance of their openers, Warner (85 off 58 balls) and Wriddhiman Saha (58 off 45), as they scripted an unbeaten stand of 151 in 17 overs. It was the Hyderabad captain’s fourth half-century of the season, while for the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman, it was his second 50+ score this year.