Australian opener David Warner has discussed how he and England’s Jonny Bairstow forged a formidable partnership at Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The duo were in impressive form together during IPL 2019 as they bagged 791 runs, including four century stands. Another notable moment saw the pair combine for a record partnership of 185 against Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore.
“It was really bizarre because me and Jonny, we've never played with each other or against each other. We didn't really know each other off the field. But as soon as we had the first net session and the first hit out, it was almost like we knew each other's game so well,” he said in an interview with Cricbuzz.
“The best thing about our combination, that I knew deep down, was how fast we are between wickets. We just knew that if we bat the way we did in the first six – like we normally do – and then once the field goes out, we can pinch the odd one or two. If we can rotate strike, it's going to frustrate a lot of people.
Remembering the record-partnership against RCB
“I look back at the RCB game, I think (there were) 21 or 22 twos (during the partnership). It was frustrating the crap out of Virat. When Virat went out to field at midwicket, we were running twos to him. The thing is, when you've got that instinct anyone can do that. When you're batting so well with someone, and gel well, you can turn ones into twos quite easily.”
Warner admits he didn’t expect to get on with Bairstow given the England-Australia rivalry.
He added: “It's one of those things where you go, ‘I don't want to be friends with this person because we're just against each other. But in today's environment, with IPL and all this franchise (cricket), there's going to be a place and a time where you are going to be potentially playing with these people. You don't really have the time anymore to not be friends. You have to be mates away from the game. That's just how it is.
