Qualifier 2: GL vs SRH Match Highlights & IPL final 2016 dates

Gujarat Lions and Sunrisers Hyderabad went into Qualifier 2 in contrasting spirits. The Lions, disheartened by the ABD show in Qualifier 1 were looking to take inspiration from that performance while the Sunriseres, in a lofty mood, after winning comfortably against KKR and looking to pin down their place in the finals of IPL 2016. It was always going to be a hard fought battle as both teams looked like equal on paper.

Catch the highlights of the game here.

Sunrisers, however, had got the best of Gujarat Lions in both the encounters in this year’s IPL. Sunrisers thrashed Gujarat Lions by 10 wickets in their first meeting ending the Lions’ unbeaten run. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the MOM with his bowling figures of 4 for 29 while David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan finished things off in style within 15 overs.

In the return leg, Gujarat Lions, who eventually finished top of the table, were outdone by a splendid bowling performance by the Sunrisers. Shikhar Dhawan starred in the run-chase of a miserly 126, which was chased down with an over to spare.

GL have been spectacular in their maiden IPL with team performances which had seen them get pole position in the table. SRH’s secret to success mainly was due to their bowling attack which has delivered more often than not, and obviously David Warner’s exploits with the bat.

A must-win match for both the teams, Gujarat’s and SRH were both hoping that their players delivered, giving them a chance to play for the IPL trophy on Sunday.

Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and elected to field first.

Playing XIs:

Gujarat Lions:

Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina(c), Dinesh Karthik(w), Dwayne Smith, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Eklavya Dwivedi, Praveen Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shivil Kaushik

Sunrisers Hyderabad:

Shikhar Dhawan, David Warner(c), Moises Henriques, Yuvraj Singh, Deepak Hooda, Naman Ojha(w), Ben Cutting, Bipul Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Barinder Sran, Trent BoultSRH strike first blood

The experiment of young Eklavya Dwivedi opening the batting didn’t pay off for GL . He perished soon as he slashed a wide ball off Bhuvneshwar Kumar right to Trent Boult at third man.

Boult struck with the ball at the other end as Raina, trying to play across the line, was trapped in front of the stumps and dismissed for just 1 run. Brendan McCullum, meanwhile, was busy at the crease and kept GL’s scorecard ticking.

The Powerplay, however, belonged to SRH as they restricted GL to 38 for the loss of 2 wickets at the end of 6 overs.

From bad to worse for GL in the middle overs

Dinesh Karthik was run-out at a crucial time. Boult was in the action again, as he picked up the ball at short third man off a late-cut shot and threw directly at the stumps with Karthik struggling to return to his crease after being sent back by McCullum.

Two quick wickets followed as McCullum fell after scoring 32 off 29 balls after mistiming a Bipul Sharma ball to Bhuvi at long-off. The incoming Dwayne Smith didn’t last the next over as he too was caught for a meager 1 off 3 balls. With GL struggling at 83 for 5 at the end of 13 overs, it was looking as if SRH would dominate the final overs and succeed in restricting GL for a low score.

Finch and Bravo salvage some pride for GL

Aaron Finch made his opponents pay for the dropped catch by Sran. Finch hit some lovely fours and sixes on his way to a half-century. Just when he looked like he would tear the bowling apart, he was bowled off a full toss by Ben Cutting for 50. A well played innings under pressure.

It was up to Bravo to finish off the innings on a high. Bravo looked dangerous as he scored an important 20 off just 10 balls before being bowled out by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The SRH bowlers have done very well at the death overs throughout the tournament, and they continued their form in this all important match.

Gujarat Lions managed to post a respectable total of 162 for 7. It would need some good bowling and better fielding to restrict the Sunrisers’ batsmen, especially Warner, from taking the match away.

A steady start by SRH

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s innings didn’t start in the best of ways as Shikhar Dhawan departed early. Brendan McCullum’s direct hit was enough to send Dhawan home for a duck.

David Warner at the other end had different ideas. He was smashing fours at ease and starting to look dangerous. As the skipper, it was his responsibility to take his team through and he stuck at the crease, keeping the scoreboard ticking.

SRH had the edge till then, however, Moises Henriques’ cheap wicket evened things up between the two sides. Henriques flat-batted a length ball outside off which went straight to Dwivedi at extra cover. Thanks to a Yuvraj Singh four as soon as he came on the pitch, SRH parried to 46 for 2 wickets at the end of the powerplay.

Wickets fall at regular intervals

Yuvraj scored 8 off 13 balls before he lofted a Shivil Kaushik ball to Dwayne Smith’s hands at long off. The pressure was mounting on SRH even further.

Much of the middle overs were slow, but David Warner maintained his good batting form in the IPL and scored a steady 50 off 35 balls.Deepak Hooda, who never looked like he was going to stay long, was soon on his way towards the pavilion after being struck leg-before-wicket by Dwayne Bravo.

Ben Cutting followed suit after edging a ball to Dinesh Karthik off a Kaushik delivery. The UltraEdge showed that there was, in fact, no contact with the bat and ball.

The match was interestingly poised with SRH on 91 for 5 after 13 overs, in comparison to GL’s 83 for 5 at the same point. The match was pointing towards a nail-biting finish.

David Warner, a man on a mission

The 15th over from Dwayne Smith yielded 19 runs for SRH in which Warner smashed a four and a six off consecutive balls. However, there was no help from his partners as Warner saw 6 wickets falling at the other end, Naman Ojha being the latest culprit.

With 34 required from the last 18 balls, Warner needed to keep most of the strike if SRH were to win the game. Bipul Sharma, however, came to his rescue and lowered the asking rate by scooping a full toss to fine leg.

It was all David Warner from there as he hit Bravo for 13 runs off the first five balls and Bipul Sharma added the cherry on the cake by hitting a six off the last ball.

With 5 runs needed off the last over, Warner made his way to the finals of IPL 2016 with a glorious cut. The cameo by Bipul Sharma was equally important where he made 27 off only 11 balls.

SRH will now face RCB in the finals of IPL 2016. A mouth-watering fixture is on the way after the impeccable chase by David Warner and his men.

Match Result:

GL: 162/7(20 overs), Finch 50, Cutting 2/20, Kumar 2/27

SRH: 163/6(19.2 overs) Warner 93, Bipul Sharma 27, Kaushik 4/22

Sunrisers Hyderabad won by 4 wickets.

IPL 2016 Final Date: 29 May, 2016 (Sunday)