Hits and duds: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Gujarat Lions.

At the Rajiv Gandhi stadium in Hyderabad, the Sunrisers and Gujarat Lions met in a eagerly anticipated game. The game ultimately turned out to be a one-sided affair where the defending champions crushed the Lions by 9 wickets.

HITS-

David Warner-The Sunrisers captain shrugged of any suggestions of poor form with an unbeaten 76 of 45 balls. The rapid fire knock by the Australian opener ensured that the hosts had a more than comfortable win.

Moises Henriques- Having started the tournament with a spectacular half century against RCB, Henriques continued to show his rich vein of form with a calm and composed half century. His composed supportive innings to David Warner ensured the Sunrisers reached the target unscratched.

Rashid Khan – Rashid Khan is slowly turning out to be the story of IPL 2017. The 18 year old Afghani leg spinner has certainly taken the Indian soil by storm . He caught the Gujarat Lions by surprise, taking 3 for 19 in his allotted 4 overs. He surely justifying the high price Sunrisers paid for him in the auction.

DUDS

Suresh Raina – After a fantastic start to the tournament against the Kolkata Knight Riders with a half century, the captain of the Rajkot based franchise failed to delivered against  the Sunrisers. Having being dropped on the first ball of innings, the former CSK man  could not make much of his luck succumbing to Rashid Khan having scored only 5 runs.

Brendon McCullum – Gujarat Lions had high hopes from Brendon McCullum to give them a fiery start. Unfortunately the former New Zealand captain failed to live up to the promise as the leg spin of Rashid Khan turned out to be too much for him. He departed having scored only 5 runs of 10 balls.

Ben Cutting- In what was otherwise a spotless performance by the Sunrisers bowlers, the Man of the Match of the 2016 finals underwhelmed. Going for 29 runs in 3 overs without getting a wicket. His spell allowed the Lions to get a decent total on board .