Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Titans, M12 - Report: CLT20-2013

A smashing opening partnership between Henry Davids and Jacques Rudolph powered the Titans to an eight-wicket victory over the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Match 12 of the Karbonn Smart CLT20 2013. The Titans, who asked their opponents to bat first, recovered from a poor start to restrict the Sunrisers to a reasonable 145, before their opening pair made lightwork of the run-chase. Apart from bagging the four points from this match, the result also meant that the Titans’ net run-rate, which stood at -0.180 prior to the start, saw a massive jump to +0.39. (Also Read: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Titans, M12 - Stats Highlights: CLT20-2013)

Needing to score at just over seven runs an over, the Titans openers meant business from the word go. Davids in particular was in his element; in the very first over of the chase, he slammed a Karan Sharma short delivery through cover. Dale Steyn was next in line as he was hit for a boundary and a six through cover.

While Rudolph kept rotating the strike, Davids dealt in boundaries. He picked up three boundaries in Thisara Perera’s first over – the sixth over of the innings – as the Titans raced to 53 for no loss before the fielding restrictions were relaxed. With the introduction of the spinners, Rudolph got into the act as he hit Amit Mishra and JP Duminy for a boundary and a six respectively.

Davids deposited Mishra into the stands in the ninth over and meted similar treatment to Darren Sammy in the 10th over. The Titans skipper reached his half-century off 32 balls as his team reached 93 for no loss at the half-way stage.

After striking three more boundaries, Davids perished in the 13th over when he was deceived by a slower one from Steyn and miscued a catch to mid-on. He scored 64 from 42 balls and dominated the 112-run opening stand. The Titans lost AB de Villiers cheaply, but a well-set Rudolph (49) and Heino Kuhn (15) took the team past the finish line in the 17th over.

Dale Steyn was yet again exceptional among the Sunrisers bowlers; he conceded only 23 runs in his four overs and dismissed the dangerous Davids. Ishant was the only other successful bowler used Shikhar Dhawan. 

The SRH innings earlier in the evening could be broken into three distinct parts. After a couple of quiet overs at the start – which fetched six runs each – the Titans bowlers were flayed for the next four overs. Shikhar Dhawan exploded first, picking up two boundaries off Rowan Richards and Morne Morkel before welcoming Marchant de Lange by slamming him for two boundaries and a six. Parthiv Patel joined in the act hitting Morkel for two fours and a six in the sixth over as the Sunrisers posted 60 runs on the board before the fielding restrictions were relaxed.

At the start of the seventh over the Titans got the first wicket when David Wiese dismissed the dangerous-looking Dhawan. The SRH captain threw his bat at a delivery bowled short and wide, only to see the ball land straight into the hands of Morkel at thirdman; he made 37 and hit seven boundaries and a six in his 21-ball knock. Parthiv Patel was dismissed soon after he failed to pick a slower delivery from Wiese and had the ball sneak through the gap between bat and pad and crash into the stumps; he made 26 from 24 balls.

The Titans piled up the pressure and derailed the SRH innings. Wiese gave his team its third wicket when he had Hanuma Vihari caught spectacularly by Henry Davids. The Titans bowlers continued to be relentless as they reduced the Sunrisers to 112/7.

The third part of the SRH innings was when Dale Steyn got stuck into de Lange and hit him for two boundaries and as many sixes. Steyn’s final over heroics helped his team post a respectable 145/7.

Wiese was the most successful of the Titans bowlers finishing with figures of three for 17, while Marchant de Lange, Richards and Davids picked up a wicket apiece.

Trivia: There were nine overs in the Sunrisers Hyderabad innings in which they scored less than six runs an over. In contrast, there was only one such over in the Titans innings.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad innings was of three parts. The first six overs produced 60 runs, the next 11 overs produced 45 runs, and the final three overs produced 40 runs.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad batsmen batted out 57 dot balls in their innings.

Henry Davids scored 15 runs off 16 deliveries pitched in the good length area. Of the remaining 26 balls, he scored 49 runs. 

Man of the Match: Henry Davids for his 64 and one wicket.

Henry Davids is the Man of the Match. "We got it right, right from the toss. We could have bowled better at the start, but David Wiese pulled the game back for us. We got Dhawan and Parthiv quickly and from then on kept things tight and we were very patient and showed a lot of guts out in the middle. It worked out well for me, I try to give myself a couple of balls to get in and then play attacking cricket"

Jacques Rudolph said he enjoyed playing with Davids and on a personal level, he was happy to stay there in the end. He wasn't too worried about missing a fifty, saying net run rate could come into play. He commended his side for assessing the conditions quickly. On a sticky wicket, he would have preferred to chase a total around 135 but said they had put up a very good performance

Shikhar Dhawan says the top-order began well but none of them, including him could carry on and make a big score. They had also lost three-four wickets in a short period, which didn't help their cause. The short ball was another problem, especially for the Indian batsmen. He wanted the local batsmen needed to stand up and that they would work on that aspect and come back stronger

souurce: clt20.com