The Sunrisers Hyderabad roared on their way to the final of the Indian Premier League 2016 riding on their captain David Warner’s match-winning knock, as has often been the case with them throughout the league, defeating the Gujarat Lions by 4 wickets at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, New Delhi. Warner starred once again for his side as he guided the Sunrisers home through his belligerent batting performance, scoring 93 runs off just 58 balls with 11 fours and 3 sixes.
Earlier, Warner had won the toss and had put the Lions in on a batting friendly Feroz Shah Kotla wicket. The Lions, led by a 50 from Aaron Finch put up a competitive total of 162/7. However, that total proved out to be a bit below par, as in a humdinger of a match, the Hyderabad-based franchise emerged out as the eventual winners, with 4 balls to spare. Shivil Kaushik and Dwayne Bravo picked up two wickets apiece for the Lions while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ben Cutting did the same for the Sunrisers.
Bipul Sharma’s contribution also must not be forgotten, as he played a match-defining cameo, coming in to bat at the fall of the sixth wicket and remained unbeaten on 27 off 11 with 3 sixes. Here is how the cricketing world reacted to the victory.
David Warner, Sunrisers Hyderabad captain, and the Man of the Match:
"Pretty overwhelming. Tried to hang on, get partnerships. Knew if one of us were in, we would win on this good batting surface. A lot of credit to Bipul for playing the way he did; hit Morne out of the park in the last game. Bipul's being bowling well, got a good change of pace and his work ethic is fantastic. There's only one slot for a full-time spinner and he has been churning them in the nets for us. The way he came in and did that today was fantastic. It's a team game. For me, it's about going out there and playing the way I do. Fortunately, it was my turn to take the team home today. I am not going to take any credit, we all must come out and do the job as well as we can. There were a few emotions out there. Some silly shots and silly errors. If there are two batsmen at the end, it's hard to stop here and at Bangalore. I thought we have to come back strong from the last time we played them. Kohli, what a player. The other players bat well around him. When he fails, there's ABD. It's all about a game plan, that is all we can do."
Suresh Raina, the captain of the Gujarat Lions:
”They played very well. We did not execute the plans. Bravo, PK (Praveen) and DK (Dinesh), I though they would deliver today. Warner batted very well. 162 was defendable. Shivil bowled well in patches, surprised them I think, but if somebody could have stepped out to give us those crucial wickets after the 17th over, it would have made a difference. New team, new venue and thanks to all the fans. The dressing room was very calm, we enjoyed each other's success and it did not look like we were playing together for the first time. He did a lot of homework. Credit to all the boys."
Former Indian batsman and Cricket Commentator, Aakash Chopra praising David Warner and Bipul Sharma:
David Warner became only the 4th batsman to score 700 runs in a single IPL season:
Ravindra Jadeja was not used by the Lions with the ball, a decision that surprised many people:
Dwayne Bravo couldn’t quite be the exceptional death bowler that he is known to be:
Yuvraj Singh, who has played 8 of the 9 IPL seasons, would be playing in an IPL final for the first time:
Tributes poured in for Warner, who played a magical innings yet again:
Warner now has the most runs while chasing in a single IPL season:
Shane Watson, Warner’s former teammate, who would be facing him in the final on May 29, had this to say:
However, this game too, like many others, was not free from umpiring howlers:
Bipul Sharma is on a roll now, not with the ball, but with the bat:
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