Fantastic fourth. Probably that’s how the Sunrisers Hyderabad would sum up their maiden victory in this IPL after three defeats in a row.

On a slow Chepauk wicket — termed “shocking” by David Warner — where shot-making wasn’t easy at all, unless you were someone like AB de Villiers, the Sunrisers had to bowl first after Punjab Kings won the toss and opted to bat. But their bowlers took it on their strides and backed up by efficient work on the field, skittled out their opponents for a paltry 120 in 19.4 overs.

That was more than half the job done for the Sunrisers. Skipper Warner (37) and Jonny Bairstow (63 not out) — strongest part of the Sunrisers’ batting — then stitched together 73, in excess of seven per over, to make matters even simpler as they eventually strolled home by nine wickets with eight balls to spare.

Courtesy this emphatic win, the Sunrisers, with two points, have been able to open their account as well as lift themselves up from the bottom, which is equally important going forward in the competition.

Obviously, irrespective of the nature of the pitch, 121 was far from being a challenging target. Having said that, looking at how the pitch behaved especially when spinners bowled and quicks took the pace off the ball, it just goes on to reflect how critical the Warner-Bairstow opening stand was. The England wicketkeeper-batsman also deserves special mention for being there till the end and not trying any fancy or glory shot till the Sunrisers had very few runs to get.

The presence of Kane Williamson (16 not out), rightly drafted into the XI, at the other end also helped Bairstow to remain in control.

Jonny Bairstow of Sunrisers Hyderabad on way to his unbeaten 63 against Punjab Kings in Chennai on Wednesday PTI

Clinical bowling

The actual credit for the Sunrisers’ victory, though, would go to their bowlers — the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed and of course, Rashid Khan — for setting the tone early on.

Taking the conditions into account, Warner made the right call by beginning the proceedings with Abhishek’s left-arm spin. Punjab Kings’ strong opening duo of skipper KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal couldn’t quite break free and soon after, Bhuvneshwar struck a crucial blow when he induced Rahul into mistiming one straight to mid-wicket.

Mayank and Chris Gayle then tried to consolidate, but Khaleel delivered to break the stand. He cramped Mayank up for room before Rashid took a fine catch at mid-wicket.

Worse followed for Punjab Kings as after Nicholas Pooran’s run out off Warner’s direct hit, Rashid foxed Gayle to trap him lbw. That turned out more like a killer blow as the Punjab Kings could never really recover post Gayle’s dismissal.

Wobbling at 47/4 in the ninth over, the task seemed a bit too much, especially on such a wicket, for Deepak Hooda, Moises Henriques and Shahrukh Khan to help their team to a formidable total. The Sunrisers bowlers were relentless with the pressure they put on the rival batsmen, as young Abhishek too removed Hooda and Henriques in quick succession, with the Punjab Kings reeling at 82/6 in the 14th over. It was mainly due to a couple of meaty blows from Shahrukh — joint top scorer alongside Mayank with 22 — that Punjab Kings went past 110.

No Malan yet

What keeps everyone baffled is the Punjab Kings not including Dawid Malan in the side. They could even think of someone like Fabian Allen and Henriques, who came in place of Riley Meredith and Jhye Richardson. But strangely, the team management keeps benching a player of the stature of Malan.

Not to say that Malan would make a huge difference straightaway, but he may well do better than Pooran, who again failed to deliver.

Pitch report

⚫ Best strike rate (20 or more runs): 112.50 Jonny Bairstow (SRH)
⚫ Most fours: 3 Warner, Bairstow (SRH)
⚫ Most sixes: 3 Jonny Bairstow (SRH)
⚫ Most fours conceded: 3 Md Shami (PBKS)
⚫ Most dot balls: 13 Fabian Allen (PBKS)
⚫ Best partnership: 73 David Warner/ Jonny Bairstow (SRH)
⚫ Most sixes conceded: 1 Abhishek Sharma Siddarth Kaul (SRH); Fabian Allen, Arshdeep Singh, Moises Henriques and Deepak Hooda (PBKS)
⚫ MoM: 63 not out off 56 balls Jonny Bairstow (SRH)