Rashid spins a web to strangle Lions
David Warner roared back to form with a blistering 76 after rookie Afghan spinner Rashid Khan weaved a mesmerising spell as Sunrisers Hyderabad overpowered Gujarat Lions by nine wickets in an IPL encounter here on Sunday.
It was Rashid’s 3 for 19 that helped Sunrisers restrict Lions to a paltry 135 for 7 in 20 overs and then Warner blasted his way to an unbeaten 76 off 45 balls to finish the match in 15.3 overs.
All-rounder Moises Henriques (52 not out) once again proved his worth with the willow as the duo added 108 runs for the unbeaten second wicket.
While this was Hyderabad’s second win in as many matches, last year’s top-four finishers Lions now have had two defeats in a row.
Warner, who had a poor Test series against India, would be happy as he was in his elements, hitting six boundaries and four huge sixes.
The mayhem started in the third over when skipper Suresh Raina introduced himself into the attack.Warner lofted him straight into the sight screen and hit another one into the long-on region to break the shackles.
Leg-spinner Tejas Baroka --an inexplicable choice with no experience of playing any match at the senior level – was given a lesson of what to expect in topflight cricket.
The youngster who has not been considered good enough to be a part of senior Delhi state side was handed a harsh lesson by the star Australian opener.
The match finished when Warner lofted Baroka into long-on stands.
Earlier, after an impressive debut, Rashid once again finished with superb figures of 3 for 19 in four overs. He rattled the Lions top-order with wickets of Brendon McCullum (5), Aaron Finch (3) and skipper Suresh Raina (5) in the 5th, 7th and 9th over of the innings.
The Lions never recovered even though Dinesh Karthik (30) and Dwayne Smith (37) added 56 for the fifth wicket.