Last season, Jonny Bairstow and David Warner were one of the most successful opening pairs in the IPL, consistently logging in 100-run partnerships.
Things haven't been the same this season for the Hyderabad opening duo. Thursday was a different story as both Warner and Bairstow started on the front foot and kept the momentum going for 16 overs, putting on a 160-run stand opening stand.
Like always, it was Warner (52 off 40) who started the innings in a positive manner, taking pacer Sheldon Cottrell for back-to-back fours in the opening over.
The duo then took off from there, playing the good deliveries and giving the bad ones a royal hammering.
Bairstow took time to go big, but once he found his flow there was no stopping him.
In was in the fourth over that he found his sweet touch, giving Cottrell the stick, taking three boundaries off the bowler.
He really got going once he was given a reprieve when on 19 -- K L Rahul dropping him at mid-off an over later.
There was no stopping the Englishman here on end as he kept the scoreboard ticking after the Powerplay, taking the tight singles and running the quick twos.
It was in the 8th over that he pushed on the accelerator again, this time taking apart leggie Ravi Bishnoi, smashing him for a 6-4-6 -- 18 runs coming off the over, including a couple of singles.
He was the main man on the night as Warner watched, while quietly accumulating runs at the other end.
A beautifully timed innings saw Bairstow get to his 50 off 28 deliveries.
In between all the quick running between the wickets, he smashed 20 runs in a Glenn Maxwell over courtesy a four and two sixes either side of the wicket.
It was a beautiful exhibition of brisk run-making through powerful stroke-play as well as quick runs across the pitch.
Bairstow (97 off 55) fell short of his century by three runs, but that was not to be rued as, despite the brief stutter in the Hyderabad innings, he had set the stage well enough for the lower order to take the team past 200.
SunRisers eventually made 201 for 6 and then bundled out Kings XI for 132, riding on Bairstow's brilliant innings.
