Imran Farhat blitz destroys Heroes

Chandigarh Lions 137 for 4 (Farhat 74*) beat Hyderabad Heroes 134 for 7 (Hall 3-18) by 6 wickets
Scorecard

Imran Farhat clobbered a 48-ball 74 to help the Chandigarh Lions run roughshod over the Hyderabad Heroes and share top spot in the table. Earlier, three wickets in a tight spell by Andrew Hall had restricted the Heroes to 134.

After winning the toss and, in keeping with the trend in the previous four matches, choosing to bat , the Heroes suffered an early setback as Syed Sahabuddin was done in by an inswinger from Andrew Hall in the first over. A 48-run partnership between Ambati Rayudu and Anirudh Singh followed which set the foundation for the big names of the Heroes' middle order.

With Rayudu and Anirudh making steady progress, Dinesh Mongia was introduced into the attack and he made an immediate impact. His third delivery foxed Rayudu and he dismissed dangerman Inzamam-ul-Haq in his second over. A couple of overs later Anirudh was run out and the Heroes had slipped from a promising 48 for 1 to 80 for 4.

Hall then returned to remove former internationals Chris Harris and Nicky Boje off successive deliveries as the Heroes struggled to accelerate. Azhar Mahmood came in and lashed a couple of sixes to take the Heroes to a competitive total.

The Lions' reply didn't have the best of starts as Hamish Marshall was bowled off the fourth ball of the innings. The decision to promote Tejinder Pal Singh to No. 3 proved inspired as he set the tone for the chase with an aggressive 19. The first five overs from the fancied duo of Mahmood and Abdul Razzaq had cost 44 runs.

After Tejinder's dismissal, it was the Farhat show and the Lions' never looked in any serious trouble. He dominated a 75-run stand with Manish Sharma and kept the run-rate at manageable levels. As Inzamam shuffled his bowlers in an attempt to get a breakthrough, Farhat hammered Alfred Absolem and Rayudu out of the attack. Rayudu conceded 17 in his one over while Absolem had 16 taken off his solitary over.

With that onslaught, the Heroes' were out of the game as only 17 were needed off the last seven overs. Farhat, whose 74 was the highest score yet in the tournament, stayed till the end and sealed the victory with a massive six over cover.