Shikhar Dhawan led from front with a sparkling half-century as Sunrisers Hyderabad trounced Kandurata Maroons by eight wickets in their opening match of the Champions League Twenty20 Qualifiers, here today.
Hyderabad were set a stiff target of 169 by the Sri Lankan side but Dhawan (71) and Parthiv Patel (52) made it a no contest with their scintillating batting.
Maroons had scored a challenging 168 for three on the back of superb batting by Kumar Sangakkara (61 not out) and skipper Lahiru Thirimanne (54) but the Indian openers reduced the match to a lop-sided affair.
The two left-handed batsmen raised a match-winning 121-run stand as they treated the Lankan bowlers with utter disdain, scoring boundaries at will.
It was a dominating show of batting by Dhawan, who continued with his rich vein of form, and Patel as Hyderabad raced to 50 in 5.3 overs and hundred in 10.4 overs.
None of the Sri Lankan bowler could make an impact and the first chance that came their way was in the 14th over and that went abegging as Dhawan's lofted drive off Jayasuriya was spilled by the fielder.
However, the spinner dismissed Patel four balls later as his top-edge was safely caught by Jayaratne. Patel's 52 came off 42 with seven boundaries.
Dhawan's was a soft dismissal as he attempted a reverse sweep off Ajantha Mendis but found Nuwan Kulasekara at backward square. His 71 came off 53 balls with 100 shots to the fence while
Thisara Perera, who came to the crease upon Dhawan's dismissal, hit a massive six off Mendis at long off, signalling a quick finish to the match. The burly left-hander hammered another big six off Kulasekara to seal the win with nine balls to spare.
Earlier, Sangakkara smashed his way to an unbeaten 61 and joined forces with skipper Lahiru Thirimanne (54) to help his side a respectable total.
Ishant Sharma was the best bowler to watch as he kept the Lankan batsmen under a leash, giving away just 20 runs and taking two crucial wickets.
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