HYDERABAD: An exceptional bowling performance was the highlight of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s second win over the Gujarat Lions in the current Indian Premier League on Friday night.

After opting to field first, Hyderabad strangled the visitors upfront, demolished their top-order in quick time and eventually restricted them to a modest 126-6.

When it was their turn to bat, Hyderabad stumbled on a few occasions, but Shikhar Dhawan applied well and his responsible knock took them over the line by five wickets with an over to spare with an unbeaten 47.

Gujarat, who began the competition with three consecutive wins, must be concerned that they’ve caught on to some sort of a poor habit. After poor starts in their last two matches cost them the game, they were off to a slippery start once again.

Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum failed to get a run in the first couple of overs. In the third over, Smith threw his bat at a wide one from Bhuvneshwar Kumar only to hit it straight down the throat of the fielder at short third man. Captain Suresh Raina hit a couple of lusty blows in his 10-ball 20 before he offered Bhuvneshwar Kumar a return catch. Dinesh Karthik was sent packing by a sensational catch by Kane Williamson at point.

Aaron Finch batted through to the end while hitting three boundaries and a six in his unbeaten 51 (42 balls).

Kumar and Mustafizur Rahman picked up two wickets each.

Summarised scores:

GUJARAT LIONS 126-6 in 20 overs (A.J. Finch 51 not out, S.K. Raina 20, D.J. Bravo 18, R.A. Jadeja 18; Mustafizur Rahman 2-17, B. Kumar 2-28); SUNRISERS HYDERABAD 129-5 in 19 overs (S. Dhawan 47 not out, D.A. Warner 24, D.J. Hooda 18; D.J. Bravo 2-14, D.S. Kulkarni 2-17).

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2016