KANE AND POORAN STAR AS SRH DOWN GT BY 8 WKTS
Skipper scores 46-ball 57 and West Indian Nicholas slams unbeaten 18-ball 34 to take Hyderabad home
Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper slammed a classy 46-ball 57 to help the outfit from Hyderabad defeat debutantes Gujarat Titans by eight wickets in an Indian Premier League match at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium on Monday.
Set a target of 163 to win, SRH started on a cautious note but gradually the openers picked up pace to race away to 64 in 8.4 overs. However, opener Abhishek Sharma, who had until then batted beautifully for his 42, was caught by Sai Sudarshan off the bowling of Rashid Khan. But Williamson and a crucial knock from Nicholas Pooran (34*) towards the end, ensured SRH reach the target successfully. They eventually scored 168-2 in 19.1 overs.
Earlier, captain Hardik Pandya scored a responsible 50 not out off 42 balls and helped Gujarat post a competitive score after a top-order failure.
Invited to bat, Hardik first forged a 40-run stand for the fourth wicket with David Miller (12) to rally the innings after the top three batters failed to convert their starts as Gujarat were in a spot of bother at 64-3 after eight overs.
Hardik then added 50 runs with Abhinav Mahonar, who justified his Rs 2.60 crore price tag with his quick-fire 35 off 21 balls, to ensure that the Titans crossed the 150-run mark.
Manohar, who got three lives, hit five boundaries and one six in his short stay and particularly launched into T Natarajan (2-34) in the 18th over, where Gujarat amassed 13 runs.
However, it was an unusual Hardik knock, as he mixed caution with aggression to anchor the innings.
The 'all-rounder' announced his arrival with a straight-drive off Natarajan to fetch his first boundary and then was brutal on Umran Malik (1-39), whom he hammered two successive boundaries in the eight over, which fetched nine runs.
In the next over, he clobbered Aiden Markaram for his only maximum over cow-corner but Hardik was devoid of partners, as SRH kept striking at regular intervals.
BRIEF SCORES: Gujarat Titans:
162 for 7 in 20 overs (Hardik Pandya 50 not out, Abhinav Manohar 35; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2-37, T Natarajan 2-34) lost to SRH 168-2 in 19.1 overs (Kane Williamson 57, Abhishek Sharma