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Pune: Gujarat Lions rode on a collective batting effort by Dwayne Smith (63 off 37) and Brendon McCullum (43 off 22) which helped them edge past Rising Pune Supergiants by three wickets in a nail-biting Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Friday.

Batting first, Steve Smith (101 off 54) struck up his maiden IPL ton as Pune posted an impressive 195/3 in 20 overs. He was well supported by Ajinkya Rahane (53).

In reply, openers Smith and McCullum set the perfect platform as middle order batsmen delivered in bits and pieces as the visitors chased down the total posting 196/7 in 20 overs.

Chasing a challenging target of 196, hard-hitting Smith and McCullum got Gujarat off to a rollicking start scoring 72 runs without losing any wicket after completion of powerplay.

The duo put on a 93-run stand for the first wicket, before McCullum gave his wicket away trying to step up the scoring rate.

Despite losing his opening partner, Smith played his natural game by scoring runs at good pace to take his team to the 100-run mark in the ninth over itself.

As he was looking set after striking nine boundaries and one six to take the game away from the home side, Perera stuck in the 11th over to send Smith packing and have Gujarat reduced to 115/2.

Dinesh Karthik (33) too departed in the 17th over after giving good support to skipper Suresh Raina (34).

But there after wickets fell one after the other but in the end, James Faulkner (9 not out) and Praveen Kumar (0 not out) remained unbeaten to take team to victory off the last ball.

Ashok Dinda (2-40) and Thisara Perera (2-41) were the pick of the bowers for Pune.

Earlier put into bat, Pune got off to a disappointing start losing opener Saurabh Tiwary (1) in the third over itself, with Raina coming in steaming with a diving effort to run the left-hander short of the crease.

But his opening partner Rahane and incoming batsman Smith held on to not lose anymore wickets to post 48/1 after completion of powerplay.

The talented duo used their experience to best effect to sneak in with ones and twos followed by a couple of boundaries and big hits to bring up their 100-run partnership for the second wicket in the 13th over itself and help their team reach 118/1.

But the 14th over saw a twist in the game as Dwayne Bravo ran Rahane out to break the partnership and have the home side reduced to 124/2.

Smith kept on playing his natural game as he stayed on course for a superb ton in IPL.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (30 not out off 18) did what he is known for, as the right-handed batsman played a cameo in the end to power his side to a competitive total.

Bravo (1-40) was the pick of the bowlers for Gujarat.

Brief Scores: Rising Pune Supergiants 195/3 in 20 overs (Steve Smith 101, Ajinkya Rahane 53; Dwayne Bravo 1-40) vs Gujarat Lions 196/7 in 20 overs (Dwayne Smith 63; Ashok Dinda 2-40, Thisera Perera 2-41)

(IANS)

New Delhi: Gujarat Lions edged out a spirited Delhi Daredevils by one run in a thrilling Indian Premier League (IPL) clash that went right down to the last ball at the Ferozshah Kotla Stadium here on Wednesday.

Chris Morris produced a superb all-round performance for Delhi and almost snatched victory for the hosts before falling short in an exciting last over.

Chasing a competitive target of 173 runs, Delhi seemed to be in trouble after losing early wickets before Morris and his South Africa teammate J.P. Duminy produced a superb comeback.

Morris smashed an unbeaten 82 runs off just 32 balls, entertaining the home crowd with four hits to the ropes and eight towering sixes. The South African all-rounder was effective with the ball as well, returning fairly economical figures of 2/35.

Duminy played a patient knock of 48 runs off 43 balls, hitting three boundaries and a six along the way. He was unlucky to miss out on a half-century and was caught and bowled by Dwayne Bravo after offering an uncharacteristacally poor shot.

Wednesday’s victory took the lions to the top of the IPL table with 10 points. The IPL debutants have five wins from the six matches they have played so far. The Daredevils, who suffered their second defeat in five matches, are at the third spot with six points.

Delhi had a rocky start as Dhawal Kulkarni struck the crucial early blows, removing the top three Delhi batsmen in his first two overs. The Mumbai-born pacer eventually finished with figures of 3/19 in his four overs. James Faulkner (1/23) and Dwayne Bravo (1/40) were the other wicket-takers for the Lions.

Delhi opener Sanju Samson made a hash of what should have been an easy flick off his pads to a poor delivery on his legstump by Dhawal Kulkarni. What he did manage was to offer the leading egde to Faulkner at mid-on.

Kulkarni then removed Quinton de Kock and Karun Nair in his next over to leave the Daredevils struggling at 3/16 after four overs.

Duminy and Morris then came together to smash the Delhi bowlers all around the ground. But Duminy’s dismissal was the turning point. The young Pawan Negi — the most expensive Indian player at the IPL auction — was unable to provide the necessary support to Morris with the hosts needing 29 runs off 17 balls when he came in to bat. But an undaunted Morris continued to produce the big hits.

With the Daredevils needing four runs off the last ball, Bravo came up with an accurate delivery into Morris’ blockhole. Morris’ swing only carried the ball to Ravindra Jadeja at long-on and the batsmen could only complete two runs much to the disappointment of the home crowd.

Earlier, put into bat by Delhi, Gujarat Lions rode on quick-fire half-centuries from Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith to post 172/6 in their 20 overs.

McCullum plundered 60 runs off a mere 36 balls while Smith raced to 53 off 30 as the duo put together an opening partnership of 112 runs off just 63 deliveries to give the Lions’ innings a flying start.

At one stage, the Lions seemed to be heading for a total of around 200 runs. But a remarkable batting collapse that saw Gujarat lose six wickets in the space of just 30 runs broke the scoring momentum.

Leg-spinner Imran Tahir played a crucial role in the Delhi bowlers’ fightback with excellent figures of 3/24 in his four overs. South Africa pacer Chris Morris returned a fairly economical 2/35 while his compatriot Jean-Paul Duminy (1/4) bagged a wicket in the only over he bowled.

Smith was finally dismissed when he was trapped leg before by Imran Tahir with one that kept straight after pitching. The West Indies batsman played for the turn, only to see the ball hit him on the pads right on middle and leg.

McCullum followed his opening partner back to the pavilion in the very next over thanks to some strange shot selection. Faced with a slowish full toss from Chris Morris that kept slightly high, the Kiwi veteran attempted a wild cross-batted swing that was neither accurate nor well timed only to lose his stumps.

Morris struck another crucial blow off the last ball of the same over when he got Gujarat captain Suresh Raina with a well directed short pitched delivery. Ravindra Jadeja then fell to Duminy when he misjudged the bounce of one that was slightly wide of off-stump.

Tahir then dismissed Ishan Kishan and Dinesh Karthik off successive deliveries to plunge Gujarat into further trouble. James Faulkner attempted a late fight back with a 13-ball 22 to help the visitors to a competitive total.

Brief scores:

Gujarat Lions 172/6 in 20 overs (Brendon McCullum 60, Dwayne Smith 53; Imran Tahir 3/24, Chris Morris 2/35) vs Delhi Daredevils 171/5 in 20 overs (Chris Morris 82 n.o., J.P. Duminy 48; Dhawal Kulkarni 19/3).

(IANS)

Hyderabad: Rising Pune Supergiants ended their four-match losing streak in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with a 34-run win via D/L method over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Tuesday.

The foundation of the big win for Pune in the rain-marred contest was set up by medium pacers Ashok Dinda (3/23) and Mitchell Marsh (2/14) as Sunrisers Hyderabad were restricted to 118/8 in 20 overs.

In a match marred by delayed start, half of the Hyderabad team was back in the dug-out by the ninth over with only 32 runs on the board. But a 47-run stand between Shikhar Dhawan (56 not out) and Naman Ojha (18) came to Hyderabad’s rescue as it ensured that the team crossed the 100-run mark.

Dhawan was the only bright spot for Hyderbad as the left-hander scored his second consecutive fifty. With the help of two fours and a six, he made 56 off 53 deliveries.

At the fag end, Bhuvneshawar Kumar’s brisk cameo of eight-ball 21 lifted them to 118/8.

In reply, Steve Smith (46 not out) and Faf du Plessis (30 off 21 deliveries) put Pune in strong position to overhaul the target. Pune lost Ajnikya Rahane (0) early – dismissed by Bhuvneshwar. But South African du Plessis and Australian Smith forged an 80-run stand for the second wicket to put the chase in commanding position.

They were cruising at 94/3 in 11 overs when rain halted play, forcing the umpires to decide the match Duckworth/Lewis method through which Pune were declared triumphant by 34 runs.

This was Pune’s second win – having won the opening match, while Hyderabad suffered a loss after hat-trick of wins and overall, third defeat in six outings.

Earlier, put into bat by Pune captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hyderabad batsmen were undone by reckless batting and poor shot selection. It started with the very first over when in-form David Warner hit a wide ball from right-armer Dinda straight to Ajnikya Rahane at backward point in the first over. The wicket of the Australian left-hander, who had scored four fifties in five games before Tuesday, for a duck gave a big relief to Pune.

Dinda removed Aditya Tare (8) when the right-hander top-edged a wide delivery to Thisara Perera at cover as Hyderabad lost their second wicket at 26 runs in five overs.

Medium pacer Mitchell Marsh reduced Hyderabad to 27/3 in the next over as England left-hander Eoin Morgan’s drive found an edge to wicket-keeper Dhoni.

After a quiet seventh over bowled by Perera, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin gave further joy to Pune camp as he dismissed Deepak Hooda (0), who edged it to Dhoni.

Marsh continued the flow of wickets as he got rid of compatriot all-rounder Moises Henriques (1), who managed to find an edge to a ball outside the leg stump to Dhoni.

At this stage, Hyderabad were reeling at 32/5 in 8.1 overs and were in desperate need of a partnership. Dhawan found support from Ojha as the duo tried to resurrect the innings, with ones and twos.

The gentle medium pace bowling from Rajat Bhatia also allowed them to score occasional boundaries as they stitched a 47-run stand for the sixth wicket.

Dinda broke the stand when he rattled Ojha’s stumps as the right-hander batsman missed the line.

Later, Hyderabad were propped up by Bhuveshwar’s three hits to the fence and one over it to recover a bit from ignominy.

Brief scores: Hyderabad: 118/8 (Shikhar Dhawan not out 56; Ashok Dinda 3/23, Mitchell Marsh 2/14). Pune: 94/3 in 11 overs (Steve Smith 46 not out; bhuvneshawar Kumar 1/17). Pune won by 34 runs via D/L method.

(IANS)