A David Warner solo effort helped Sunrisers Hyderabad defeat the Gujarat Lions by four wickets in Qualifier 2 and earn a passage to the VIVO IPL 2016 Final. Set to chase 163, SRH were powered by their captain, who finished with an unbeaten 93 and got the job done.
Warner picked up boundaries in each of the first five overs and raced to 25 from 18 balls. By that time though, he had already lost the company of Shikhar Dhawan and Moises Henriques. Before the halfway mark, Yuvraj Singh had also returned to the dressing room, having picked out the long off fielder after scoring 8.
The SRH skipper took it upon himself to do the job for his team. Despite wickets falling at the other end, the Australian played his natural game; he continued to find the boundaries regularly. He had hit seven boundaries and a six by the time he reached his half-century in the eleventh over. He didn’t get too much of the strike in the next few overs, but when he did, he generally found the boundary and ensured the required run rate was kept in check. In the thirteenth over, he deposited one into the stand at midwicket, and in the fifteenth over put away Dwayne Smith for a six and a boundary off consecutive deliveries.
Warner found an able ally in Bipul Sharma after Naman Ojha had played a reckless shot to hole out to midwicket in the sixteenth over. Together, Warner and Sharma, added 46 runs in 3.3 overs to take their team past the finish line; the latter was the dominant partner in the partnership, contributing 27 from 11 balls (studded with three sixes), while Warner contributed 19 from 10 balls. Apart from hitting the boundaries and sixes, the pair also scampered between the wickets like hares to pick up five braces. The SRH skipper remained undefeated on 93; he hit 11 boundaries and three sixes in his 58-ball outing. SRH got past the target with four balls to spare, with the skipper fittingly scoring the winning runs.
For the Gujarat Lions, the chinaman bowler Shivil Kaushik was the best bowler; he and Dwayne Bravo picked up two wickets each, while Dwayne Smith accounted for the wicket of Dwayne Smith.
Earlier in the evening, put in to bat, the Gujarat Lions’ struggles with their top-order continued. After losing opener Eklavya Dwivedi and skipper Suresh Raina for single-digit scores, the Gujarat Lions got to a competitive total, thanks mainly to Aaron Finch’s timely half-century. The Australian, who was dismissed for single-digit scores in his last two innings, walked out to bat in the ninth over with his team at 63 for 3. He hit a four and a six early on before Barinder Sran put down a regulation opportunity in the twelfth over.
Finch made SRH pay for that lapse in the outfield, scoring his fifth half-century of the season. When he was given width, he slapped the ball through the off-side, and on one occasion swung his bat hard to deposit the ball into the stands beyond long off. When the bowlers banged the ball in short, he stood back in the crease and muscled the ball through the leg-side. On one occasion, he deposited the ball into the stands at midwicket and one one other occasion he upper cut the ball to the thirdman boundary. He got to 50 with the aid of seven boundaries and two sixes. In the 18th over, he charged down the ground and attempted to hit one out of the ground, but only managed to drag the full toss from Ben Cutting on to his pads and onto his stumps.
Finch had good company from Ravindra Jadeja, who remained unbeaten on 19 (15 balls); the sixth wicket pair added 51 runs in 4.5 overs and were chiefly responsible in taking the Lions past the 150-run mark. Brendon McCullum (32 from 29 balls), Dinesh Karthik (26 from 19 balls) and Dwayne Bravo (20 from 10 balls) were the other noteworthy contributors. The Gujarat Lions finished with 162-7; they scored 38-2 in the Powerplay overs, 71-3 in the middle nine overs and finished with a flourish, adding 53-2 in the final five.
For Sunrisers Hyderabad, who were without the injured Mustafizur Rahman, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ben Cutting picked up two wickets apiece, while Trent Boult – playing his first match of the season – and Bipul Sharma picked up a wicket each.
Brief Score
Gujarat Lions 162-7 in 20.0 Overs (Brendon McCullum 32, Dinesh Karthik 26, Aaron Finch 50, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2-27, Ben Cutting 2-20)
Sunrisers Hyderabad 163-6 in 19.2 Overs (David Warner 93*, Shivil Kaushik 2-22, Dwayne Bravo 2-32) by 4 wickets.
Man of the Match: David Warner, for his match-winning 93*.
