Yuvraj Singh and David Warner slaying the comeback trail!
On a day wherein their respective teams failed to cross the line, two comeback men stood tall in the ruins - Yuvraj Singh and David Warner. Their innings were full of intent, desire, and passion and it seemed as if they were making a statement to themselves more than anyone else in relation to their cricket abilities still being intact.
Sunrisers Hyderabad started the day ominously with the first wicket partnership between Warner and Bairstow yielding 118 runs in 12.5 overs. David Warner was unsurprisingly the enforcer with a jaw-dropping inning of 85 in a mere 53 balls. However, after the fall of Warner on 144 in the 16th over, Hyderabad unraveled and could only muster 181 in their quota of 20 overs.
This seemed enough on an Eden Gardens pitch till the West Indian giant, Andre Russell, had his say in the final 4 overs, scoring 49 in just 19 balls. The budding star of Indian cricket, Shubman Gill, smashed 2 sixes in 3 balls to finish the contest with 2 balls remaining in the favor of Kolkata Knight Riders.
Yuvi's team Mumbai Indians on the other side were disoriented by the Pant power in their home ground as the Delhi lad run riot with a 27 ball 78 which included 7 sixes and an equal number of fours.
While the first 3 overs of the Mumbai chase were encouraging, it soon started to come apart for them with wickets falling at regular intervals. Amidst this chaos, Yuvi stood strong and rolled back the years powering 3 sixes and 5 fours in an inning of 53 in just 35 balls. He single-handedly kept the chase and the stadium alive till the 19th over before he perished to Kagiso Rabada, trying to keep up with the ever-increasing run-rate.
While cricket is a team game and individual feats are often dwarfed in front of the final result of the match, the efforts of Yuvi and Warner warrant an appreciation based on their individual predicaments plaguing them since before the start of the tournament.
While Warner is coming back to professional cricket after a hiatus of 12 months, racing against time to be mentally, physically and emotionally fit for the impending Cricket World Cup in England, Yuvi in the twilight years of his career still has not given up on the dream of dawning the Indian jersey once again. Their graceful performances with such unnerving backgrounds reiterate one of the oldest sayings in cricket - "Form is temporary, class is permanent"
Follow Sportskeeda for all the updates on IPL score 2019, purple cap, points table, schedule, news, orange cap and fantasy tips.