Agency
Rajkot: David Warner’s power-packed performance complemented by excellent death bowling from Bhuvneshwar Kumar enabled Sunrisers Hyderbad record an emphatic 10-wicket victory over Gujarat Lions in a lopsided Indian Premier League encounter, here tonight.
While Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4/29) helped Sunrisers restrict Gujarat Lions to 135/8 in 20 overs, skipper Warner continued his dream form as he plundered an unbeaten 74 off 48 balls with Sunrisers winning by a canter in only 14.5 overs. Warner had nine fours in his innings.
Shikhar Dhawan also showed signs of returning to form with an unbeaten 53 off 41 balls with five boundaries.
While Sunrisers won their second outing in four games, it was the first loss for the Suresh Raina-led outfit.
The match was as good as lost for the Lions after they failed to notch up a decent total. But whatever dreams they harboured of early breakthroughs turned into nightmare as Warner creamed the bowling with utter disdain notching up his third half-century in four matches.
His sequence of scores in the IPL read as: 58, 13, 90 no and 74 no. With 235 runs, Warner crossed KKR captain Gautam Gambhir as the current ‘Orange Cap’ holder in the league.
The 50 came off 29 balls with seven boundaries and he completely eased the pressure on a struggling Dhawan giving him ample time to get a few valuable runs under his belt.
Warner started with two boundaries off Dale Steyn’s bowling in the very first over. The first through third man and the next a slash over point.(PTI)
score board
Gujarat Lions innings
AJ Finch b Kumar 00
BB McCullum c Hooda b Bipul Sharma 18
SK Raina* c Henriques b Kumar 75
KD Karthik† c Kumar b Hooda 08
DJ Bravo c Kumar b Sran 08
RA Jadeja b Mustafizur Rahman 14
AD Nath c Bipul Sharma b Kumar 05
DW Steyn c Morgan b Kumar 01
P Kumar not out 01
Extras 05
Total 135/8
Sunrisers Hyderabad innings
DA Warner* not out 74
S Dhawan not out 53
Extras 10
Total 137/0
