Gujarat Lions vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2016, Match 15 at Rajkot: Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s 4-29, David Warner’s 74, and other highlights

SRH rode to a comfortable and superior 10-wicket win over new franchise GL, in Match 15 of the ongoing IPL 2016, at Rajkot.

As visitors Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) rode to a comfortable and superior 10-wicket win over new franchise Gujarat Lions (GL), in Match 15 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016, at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on Thursday, it also turned out to be GL’s first ever loss of the tournament, following three opening wins. As GL managed a paltry total of 135, SRH chased it down, with 31 balls to spare. Although a low-scoring encounter, it did produce some highlights in the game, as Ayush Gupta takes his time out to present those to us. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Gujarat Lions vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2016, Match 15 at Rajkot

Suresh Raina’s commanding knock of 75: With most of the GL batsmen failing to fire, or put up a decent fight with the bat, it was nevertheless, the skipper Suresh Raina, who played a commanding knock of 75, and allowed GL to finish on an average total of 135 for 8. His knock included nine boundaries, along with a strike rate of 147. He also completed his 6,000 runs in T20 cricket as a result of his knock.

Raina-Brendon McCullum’s decent partnership of 56: Raina was on song throughout his innings, but it was his decent second wicket partnership of 56 runs along with Brendon McCullum, that allowed GL to settle down in their innings, after losing the in form Aaron Finch for a duck early on. FULL CRICKET UPDATES: Gujarat Lions vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2016, Match 15 at Rajkot

Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s terrific four-wicket haul: It was an excellent day for SRH bowlers as  Bhuvneshwar Kumar finished with 4 for 29 in his four overs with an economy of 7.25. His scalps included those of Aarton Finch (0), Suresh Raina (75), Akshdeep Nath (5) and Dale Steyn (1) and as a result was adjudged the Man of the Match following the win.

David Warner’s stellar knock of 74: Already in good form, especially in this format of the game, skipper David Warner played a stellar knock of 74, just a similar one, like that of GL skipper Raina, as it was his knock, that mainly allowed SRH to cement their place in the innings as well as the game, and allowed to them to make it a successful chase of the low-scoring total. His knock came off 48 deliveries, which included nine boundaries, along with a strike rate of 154.

Shikhar Dhawan’s fine knock of 53: This was the much needed one from Dhawan, not just for himself, but also for the team, as it was his knock, that allowed SRH to build their innings properly during the chase. Dhawan scored a fine knock of 53, which came off 41 deliveries, including five boundaries, along with a strike rate of 129.

Warner-Dhawan’s match-winning stand of 137: It was not just about Warner or Dhawan’s individual knock, but also their mammoth and match-winning stand of 137 runs, as SRH comfortably won the game, without losing any wickets, as the low-scoring tie just turned out to be one sided. The stand also included 10 extras from the SRH bowlers.

(Ayush Gupta is a reporter at CricketCountry. A passionate supporter of Manchester United, he idolises Roger Federer and is also a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) maniac. He can be followed on Twitter @Ayush24x7)

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