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IPL 2016: Bhuvneshwar Kumar hails Sunrisers Hyderabad 'strategy' vs Gujarat Lions

Bhuvneshwar Kumar bagged four for 29 to help Sunrisers Hyderabad rout high-flying Gujarat Lions by 10 wickets. UPDATED: April 22, 2016 23:42 IST Bhuvneshwar Kumar celebrates Aaron Finch's wicket. (BCCI Photo)

Man of the Match Bhuvneshwar Kumar has praised his fellow Sunrisers Hyderabad's bowlers after his side crushed high-flying Gujarat Lions by 10 wickets in an Indian Premier League match in Rajkot on Thursday. Bhuvneshwar led the attack with four for 29 to restrict Gujarat to 135 for eight before captain David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan slammed fifties to guide Sunrisers to their second win.

"We have a strong bowling attack and it was our plan to bowl first and restrict the opposition to around 150 so that it would be an easy chase for our batsmen," Bhuvneshwar told reporters after Hyderabad defeated Gujarat by 10 wickets last night at the Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium.

"We planned against Mumbai Indians and did the same here and both the time our plan worked and we won the match while chasing," he said.

Talking about their strategy, Bhuvneshwar said: "We bowled to our plan by using slow cutters and wanted the batsmen to use their power and our plan worked. Most of the Gujarat Lions batsmen got out while playing big shots." (David Warner proud of SRH bowlers)

Bhuvneshwar removed inform opening batsman Aaron Finch, who had hit three consecutive fifties before this match, on the fourth ball of the first over and Gujarat never recovered from the early damage.

The SRH invited the Lions to bat first and restricted them to 135 runs and then chased down the target of 14.5 overs without losing a wicket.

Captain David Warner made unbeaten 74 while Shikhar Dhawan, who had scored only 16 runs in three matches before the game, remained not out at 53.

Talking about Finch's wicket, Bhuvneshwar said: "Finch had won three matches on-the-trot for his side and it was necessary for us to get him out quickly, and I'm happy that we could do so by sending him back in first over.

"They have a strong batting line up and if they don't lose wickets in first ten overs, their batsmen can be dangerous for the opposition, but we managed to take wickets at regular intervals and not allow them to score big runs," he said.

Praising Gujarat Lions skipper and his Uttar Pradesh state-mate Suresh Raina's knock, Bhuvneshwar said: "It's difficult to stop him from scoring runs once he settles down at the crease, but we did not allow GL to build a partnership and that was the plus point for our side."

(With PTI inputs)

Posted byJepher Nickels




