Bhuvneshwar Kumar troubles Gujarat with a neat bowling display
Bhuvneshwar Kumar produced match-winning figures of 2 for 28 to help Hyderabad undo a strong Gujarat outfit by five wickets in the Indian Twenty20 competition in Hyderabad on Friday.
Hyderabad's captain, David Warner, won the toss and opted to bowl first on a track that provided bounce and movement. Kumar made use of the favourable conditions and troubled the hard-hitting Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith from the onset.
In the first over, he beat Smith with outswing from the first four balls. The West Indian managed to dab the last two balls of the over, to backward point to complete the maiden. Ashish Nehra followed it with another maiden, that forced Gujarat's openers to take chances.
The early pressure paid dividends as Smith edged a Kumar outswinger to short third man in the third over. His dismissal brought captain, Suresh Raina, to the crease and he looked to inject momentum after an ailing Gujarat start.
Raina smashed two sixes and a four in the two overs that followed but then chipped a return catch to Kumar in the last ball of his third over. The double blow pegged Gujarat on the back foot and they managed just 26 runs in the Powerplay.
Mustafizur Rahman replaced Nehra in the sixth over and added to Gujarat's woes by dismissing Dinesh Karthik without scoring. McCullum, who made an uncharacteristic 19-ball seven, fell two overs later. Aaron Finch was the only Gujarat batsman that batted with ease. He struck three fours and a six in his 42-ball 51 which helped his side post 126 in their innings.
Hyderabad, buoyed by the return of Yuvraj Singh into their ranks, required a steady start from their openers to put them on course for their fifth win of the season. Warner and Shikhar Dhawan added 26 runs, before Warner was dismissed. Dhawan remained unbeaten through the innings and guided Hyderabad home with an over to spare.
"Being a new ball bowler, you take 2-3 early wickets and do the damage. I look to swing the ball and it is not easy to hit the bowlers in T20s," Kumar said. "I don't tell anything to Mustafizur. His slower balls are difficult and he is the one taking pressure off me and Nehra in the death overs."
Warner lauded his team for a strong all-round display. "The batters got the job done. We lost a couple of wickets early but Shikhar was fantastic for us. I don't think it was a 124 [126]wicket. 150 would have been par. I am pleased with the way the bowlers are doing the job."