Teenage Afghan spinner Rashid torments Lions, Warner leads Sunrisers home
Rashid Khan was named man of the match after a sublime spinning display before David Warner led the champions to another IPL victory.
Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan bamboozled Gujarat Lions with a magnificent exhibition of leg-spin bowling and David Warner scored a rapid unbeaten half-century as Sunrisers Hyderabad eased to a nine-wicket Indian Premier League victory.
Rashid took two wickets when the champions beat Royal Challengers Bangalore on his IPL debut this week and finished with figures of 3-19 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday.
Dwayne Smith top scored with 37 for a Lions side that also lost their opening game of the tournament against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday and could only post 135-7 two days later, Bhuvneshwar Kumar taking 2-21.
Captain Warner (76 not out off 45 balls) put on a show with support from his in-form Australia team-mate Moises Henriques (52 from 39 deliveries) to get the champions home with 27 balls to spare.
The Afghan @rashidkhan_19 foxed the Lions like a pro! The Man of the Match and the current Purple cap holder. #SRHvGL #OrangeArmy pic.twitter.com/dtrdeUb67y
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) April 9, 2017
Man-of-the-match Rashid struck in his first over to remove the dangerous Brendon McCullum, who was trapped in front for just five when he failed to read the teenage tweaker's wrong'un.
The Sunrisers bowlers were giving nothing away and the Lions were 57-4 after Rashid left Aaron Finch and Suresh Raina perplexed, the experienced duo both unable to read the ultra-confident 18-year-old.
Dinesh Karthik (30 from 32) and West Indian all-rounder Smith, who faced just 27 balls in an entertaining knock, put on 56 for the fifth wicket, but the Lions' total was never likely to be enough.
Skipper Warner led from the front, clearing the ropes four times with some brutal blows, and Henriques scored a fifth consecutive half-century as the Lions were blown away.
Shikhar Dhawan fell in the third over, but Warner and Henriques were in no mood to hang around, getting Sunrisers home at a canter.
