All star of the match

David Warner leads Hyderabad to maiden Indian T20 league final

Hyderabad's captain, David Warner, thumped an unbeaten 58-ball 93 that helped his side beat Gujarat by four wickets and qualify for their maiden Indian Twenty20 league final, where they will meet Bangalore on May 29.

Hyderabad's captain, David Warner, thumped an unbeaten 58-ball 93 that helped his side beat Gujarat by four wickets and qualify for their maiden final of the Indian Twenty20 league, where they will meet Bangalore on May 29.
Warner had earlier won the toss and pressed the opposition in to bat first. Buoyed by some poor fielding, Gujarat amassed a respectable 162 in their innings. Hyderabad required a steady hand from their batsmen to chase the target, and - after opener Shikhar Dhawan was run out in the second over - they looked to their Captain to set the tempo.
Warner - with seven half-centuries - before the second qualifier - in the season - didn't disappoint. He had made his intentions clear from the onset and slapped the first ball of the chase, from Praveen Kumar, for a boundary. He then clipped Dhawal Kulkarni for another two balls after Dhawan's departure.
While Warner stood firm, wickets fell at the other end. Moises Henriques was the second Hyderabad batsman to fall. Dwayne Bravo and left-arm wristspinner Shivil Kaushik were responsible for Hyderabad's mid-innings slump that saw them go from 61 for 2 in eight overs to 91 for 5 in 13.
Warner was running out of partners and required a steady innings from the lower-middle order. He found an able lower-order ally in Bipul Sharma who entered the fray when Hyderabad needed 46 runs from 25 balls. The Warner-Sharma combine added 46 runs for the seventh wicket that guided Hyderabad home. Warner clubbed eleven fours and three sixes in his match-winning effort.
"I know if I could hang in there, the end we were capable of chasing it," Warner said. "Lot of credit to Bipul for playing the way he did. He's been bowling well, his work ethic has been fantastic. One place for a full-time spinner. A team game, for me, going there and playing the way I do. All about having one batter in a good partnership. My turn to take us to the end. I'm not going to take any credit for it. A few emotions there some silly shots and errors. If there are two batsmen out there, hard to defend. Final about not worrying about their players and executing our plans."