Sun rises in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: It was a wining baptism for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the sixth edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here on Friday.

Although the batsmen were a huge let down against last edition's bottom placed, Pune warriors India (PWI), the team bounced back in fitting style after the line up started returning to the pavilion in quick succession, thanks to sustained efforts by Dale Steyn and Amit Mishra. The Warriors were bowled out for 104 and lost by 22 runs to the host, which made 126 for six wickets. The visitors were struggling when they lost their sixth wicket even as 41 runs were required in 22 balls.

However, a magnificent over by Steyn changed the script to dramatic levels as the tail failed to wag and they loss the last four wickets adding only 19 runs. Earlier, the host team failed to consolidate the sound start by openers local boy Akshath Reddy (27) and Parthiv patel (19) added 34 runs for the first wicket after being into bat.Thisara Perera top-scored with a breezy knock of 30 runs and actually brought a feel of respectability to the score.

Pune Warriors bowlers bowled well despite nothing spectacular in terms of bursts or brilliance. Good fielding did the job for the visitors after openers of 34 from 32 balls between local boy Akshath Reddy (27) and Parthiv patel (19) added 34 runs for the first wicket. Lankan import, Thisara Perera top-scored with a breezy knock of 30 runs and actually brought a feel of respectability to the score.

Although no individual could claim honours, there was collective bowling approach that saw Ashok Dinda pick up two wickets while Rahul Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Marlon Samuels and Yuvraj Singh, scalped one victim each. Incidentally, Pune warriors sprung a surprise by opening the attack with spinner Marlon Samuels. However, Sunrisers did extremely well to finish at 126 for six from the precarious 87 for four after the 15th over.