IPL 2019: Jonny Bairstow and David Warner Create History with Opening Partnership

The 11th game of IPL 2019 witnessed perhaps the best partnership batting display by an overseas pair in the history of the Indian Premier League with Jonny Bairstow and David Warner amassing 185 runs in 16.1 overs, including a maiden IPL century for the Englishman. Even Warner sneaked in a century of his own as the Sunrisers scored a total of 231.

Already riding on supreme batting performances in the first 2 games, the Sunrisers Hyderabad continued the good run with a near perfect display yet again. Jonny Bairstow and David Warner put on a beautiful exhibition of classy batting and impervious running between the wickets in front of their home crowd the the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium at Hyderabad, as they broke the record for highest opening partnership in the history of the Indian Premier League. The other two on the list include the memorable partnership between Gautam Gambhir and Chris Lynn in 2016 and the slugfest involving Chris Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan, in which Gayle scored 175.

What was striking was how well David Warner and Jonny Bairstow hit all around the park. They complemented each other by simultaneously playing the aggressor’s role and ran beautifully between the wickets. The number of twos gathered must be another IPL record as well.

Massive partnerships in the IPL that arise out of nowhere and take the game away from the opposition are the hallmark of IPL cricket. The destructive cricket on show is the chief reason behind the incessant flow of fans into the stadiums and television alike who are glued to the game constantly.

While building partnerships in the IPL gets a little tougher if the players are from different countries, it isn’t seldom that we see this. Over the years, we have all had the pleasure of witnessing numerous century stands that have left us in awe. A well oiled machine is what comes to mind when you think about good partnership batting and the W&B show was testament to precisely this.

SRH seem to be in real good form and look like the team to beat in this year’s IPL. With Tom Moody at the helm and David Warner back, it wouldn’t be surprising if this year sees a repeat of the 2018 IPL Final between Chennai Super Kings and the Sunrisers Hyderabad.