Finch, Raina add to Bangalore's woes with 92-run stand

Aaron Finch and Suresh Raina thumped a 92-run stand for the third wicket that helped Gujarat comprehensively beat a struggling Bangalore unit, who had scored just 134 in their innings, by seven wickets in the Indian Twenty20 competition at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore on Thursday.

Bangalore, in the 2017 edition of the tournament, has yielded just two wins from the nine matches, with one match being abandoned due to rain. On Thursday, they hoped to find form but against an inform seaming unit, Bangalore's top order struggled. Andrew Tye produced a four-over spell that yielded just 12 runs and three wickets. By the 10th over, Bangalore stood at 60 for 5, with the top order destroyed. The poor display ensure that the hosts managed just 134.

Bangalore required early wickets and they accounted for openers, Ishan Kishan, and Brendon McCullum in the first five overs. Finch and Raina then dropped anchor. Finch took just one ball to find his feet and then thumped Samuel Badree for consecutive sixes. S Aravind was treated with equal disdain in the next over and clubbed for two boundaries, before Aniket Choudhary was smashed for two fours and a six in the ninth over. The onslaught ensured that Gujarat had amassed 89 in the first ten overs. Finch played aggressor through the innings and scored 72 off the 92-run stand. He finally departed in the 13th over after hitting six sixes and five fours. Raina remained unbeaten on 34 off 30 and guided his side home with 37 balls to spare.