IPL: Gujarat flounder after superb start

Kanpur, May 13 (IANS) Gujarat Lions squandered an excellent start to post a total of 154 runs in their Indian Premier League (IPL) tie against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Green Park Stadium here on Saturday.

Asked to bat first by Hyderabad skipper Suresh Raina, Gujarat rode on power packed batting by Ishan Kishan and Dwayne Smith to cross the 100-run mark in the 10th over and were in a comfortable position at the halfway stage of their innings.

However, they seemed to inexplicably lose their wits and lost 10 wickets in the space of just 43 runs to be all out in 19.2 overs.

Young pacer Mohammed Siraj and Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan were the lynchpin for Hyderabad as they produced some excellent bowling to contain the dangerous Hyderabad batting line-up.

Siraj posted figures of 4/32 in his four overs while Rashid returned 3/34. Experienced pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar had figures of 2/25 with fellow pacer Siddarth Kaul also bagging a wicket.

Kishan was the top scorer among the Gujarat batsmen with 61 runs off 40 balls with five boundaries and four sixes. Bravo plundered 54 runs with seven hits to the fence and two sixes studding his 33-ball knock.

The duo produced an opening partnership of 111 runs off 65 deliveries to give the Gujarat innings an excellent start.

However, Hyderabad struck back thanks to Siraj and Rashid.

Rashid started the Hyderabad comeback when he trapped Smith leg before in the 11th over.

Smith tried to pull a delivery which was spinning in slightly but he mistimed his shot and the ball his his back leg plumb in front of his middle stump.

Until that point, Hyderabad were seemingly sailing through to a big total but Smith's dismissal seemed to put the brakes on their inings and they lost their entire top and middle order in the form of Kishan, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthick and Aaron Finch in the space of two overs.

Kishan fell while attempting another big shot. He tried to smash a Siraj delivery out his off-stump over the on-side but only managed to offer a top edge to Hyderabad wicket-keeper Naman Ojha.

Siraj ended his spell in superb fashion, sending back James Faulkner and Pradeep Sangwan off the last two balls of his fourth over.

Gujarat continued to lose wickets at regular intervals with some of their batsmen displaying atrocious shot selection.

Brief scores:

Gujarat: 154 in 19.2 overs (Ishan Kishan 61, Dwayne Smith 54; Mohammed Siraj 4/32, Rashid Khan 3/34).