Bangalore: Captain David Warner hailed Sunrisers Hyderabad for staying cool in the heat of an Indian Premier League final to claim their maiden title at the home of opponents Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Hyderabad, defending 208 to win at M. Chinnaswamy stadium, survived a deadly opening blitz from big-hitting West Indian Chris Gayle to eke out an eight-run victory late on Sunday.
Australian Warner led by example after winning the toss and electing to bat, hitting a sparkling half-century – his ninth of the IPL season – as Hyderabad posted a massive 208.
But Gayle came out with all guns blazing, hitting four fours and eight sixes in a 38-ball 76. He put together a 114-run opening stand with Virat Kohli (54) to give Bangalore hope, but Hyderabad’s bowlers stayed focused.
“A guy like Chris Gayle, he is always going to keep going. The hardest thing is to try and maintain our composure while he is going and playing like this,” Warner told reporters.
“So for us it was about staying composed and having belief and that’s what the players showed when we were out there,” he added.
Hyderabad got the breakthrough they needed in the 11th over when Gayle was caught by Bipul Sharma off Ben Cutting.
Kohli, who topped the season’s batting chart with 973 runs from 16 matches, then tried to pilot the chase but was cleaned up by Barinder Sran.
Earlier Warner’s 38-ball 69, which was laced with eight fours and three sixes, laid a solid foundation for Hyderabad before Cutting swelled the total with an unbeaten 39 off 15 balls.
The left-handed Warner, who accumulated 848 runs in 17 matches, was the driving force behind Hyderabad’s title-winning season but he lavished praise on a number of his teammates. “It takes a team to win a tournament,” he said.
“The plus that I had was I had two international captains (Kane Williamson and Eoin Morgan) with me.
“I would also credit Bhuvneshwar Kumar and rising Bangladesh star Mustafizur Rahman for their contributions,” the skipper added.
Kumar finished as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 23, while Rahman grabbed 17.
Bangalore coach Daniel Vettori heaped praise on Indian star Kohli, who rewrote the record books this IPL season but still ended up on the losing side.
Kohli surpassed Gujarat Lions captain Suresh Raina to become the all-time leading scorer in the cash-rich league.
He also recorded the highest partnership (229) in Twenty20 cricket history with De Villiers against Gujarat.
A visibly dejected Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli credited Hyderabad’s superb bowling unit for their maiden title.
Thanking the crowd for their support, Kohli admitted his and South African AB de Villiers’ dismissals in quick succession did not help RCB’s cause as they fell short by eight runs at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday.
“Definitely proud of the way we played this season. This was for people of Bengaluru. They have supported us in worst of seasons. We would have loved to be on other side of result. We went for a few but wicket was nice. Me and AB getting out close to each other was a big blow. Had I stayed with AB a little longer, it would have been different,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony on Sunday.
Kohli, who bagged the orange cap after finishing as the top run-getter with 973, said Hyderabad’s strong bowling attack helped the side register the win.
“It is a nice incentive, but it does not feel good to be at the other side of the result. Why Sunrisers won is because they have a strong bowling attack. I knew I was hitting the ball well and I just wanted to keep contributing,” he said.
“I surprised myself there. I opened the innings, someone batting at No 3 or No 4 may not have scored much. Most sixes in the tournament surprised me. I am happy with the award. I don’t want to talk much. The winning team deserves the place here,” the 27-year-old, who also emerged the top six hitter of the tournament (38) said.
