Yuvraj and Henriques shine for Hyderabad in T20 opener

Yuvraj Singh and Moises Henriques' 58-run partnership for the third wicket helped the defending champions - Hyderabad - register a 35-run win against Bangalore in the opener of the Indian Twenty20 competition that took place at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

The hard-hitting duo came together in the 11th over after Stuart Binny had dismissed opener Shikhar Dhawan for a well-compiled 40. Hyderabad - at that stage had motored along at 8.90 runs an over, but on a surface that aided batting - they required to find an extra gear in a bid to post a target that would challenge a strong Bangalore unit.

Yuvraj played aggressor early and took on the Bangalore seamers, first slapping Sreenath Aravind for four from the eighth ball he faced and then tearing into debutant seamer Aniket Choudhary with two fours and a six in the 13th over. Bangalore added to their own woes in the same over as Aravind shelled a regulation chest-high catch at deep square leg.

Yuvraj made them pay for the error and continued finding the ropes with ease. Henriques looked to give Yuvraj much of the strike, but when the opportunity presented itself, hit the gas as well. In the 15th over, the right hander clubbed a four and a six, either side of a Yuvraj six. The duo added 58 runs in the 28 balls they batted together and had lifted the scoring rate to over nine.

Henriques finally departed in the 16th over for a 37-ball 52, but his stand with Yuvraj provided the platform for Hyderabad to launch a final onslaught that came from Ben Cutting and Deepak Hooda. Yuvraj was dismissed for a 27-ball 62, which included seven fours and three sixes.