Boje and Kemp power Heroes to victory

Hyderabad Heroes 156 for 3 (Kemp 66*, Boje 61*) beat Chennai Superstars 152 for 7 (Harvey 49, Badani 33) by seven wickets
Scorecard

Hyderabad Heroes were powered to a seven-wicket victory over the Chennai Superstars by their South African recruits Nicky Boje (61*) and Justin Kemp (66*).

In the first match of the ICL to be held in Hyderabad, the Heroes went against the trend in this edition of the tournament at the toss and instead chose to field. Their decision seemed to have backfired as Ian Harvey and G Vignesh gave the Superstars a breezy start with 41 coming off the first six overs.

Boje was then introduced into the attack and he struck immediately, dismissing Vignesh for 19, and sent down a miserly three-over spell, giving away only seven runs. Harvey, though, continued to plunder runs off the other bowlers before being trapped lbw by left-arm spinner IS Reddy for a 36-ball 49. Hemang Badani then carted three sixes and two boundaries in an express 33 to lift the Superstars to a respectable 152.

The Heroes' reply got off to a dreadful start as Jimmy Maher and Anirudh Singh were both dismissed in the first over. The runs didn't flow until Thiru Kumaran's first over; 17 runs came off it. Boje then picked off three consecutive boundaries off Harvey as he and Ambati Rayudu put on 50 runs in quick time.

Rayudu's dismissal left the Heroes at a shaky 53 for 3 and brought Kemp to the crease. By the end of the 12th over, the asking-rate had climbed to 9 before Kemp showcased his ability to muscle the ball out of the park. Four sixes and six fours flowed off his bat as he clobbered his way to the tournament's highest score. Boje also completed a superb half-century as the two put on 103 to take the Heroes to victory.

The result leaves the Superstars at the bottom of the table having lost both their matches while the Heroes now have one win and one loss so far.