Skipper David Warner's unbeaten 93 off 58 balls carried Sunrisers Hyderabad into 2016 Indian Premier League final with four-wicket win over Gujarat Lions on Friday at Delhi. They will play Royal Challengers Bangalore in Sunday's final at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium , Bengaluru.


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After winning to toss, Warner put the Lions into bat in the second Qualifier. Despite missing  Mustafizur Rahman due to injury, Sunrisers managed to restrict the new team to 162. The Lions' total was spurred by a brilliant, counter attacking fifty from Aaron Finch.


Sunrisers' chase started badly, losing three wickets inside the first ten over. Few more wickets, and the match seemed to have gone out their grasp, but Warner stayed put. By the 17th over, the equation had become 34 off 18 balls, with six wickets gone.


In Bipul Sharma, the skipper found a perfect ally. Sharma ended with an unbeaten individual score of 27 off 11 balls, which included three sixes. But the defining moment, or the over of the match was the penultimate one, bowled by Dwayne Bravo, which went for 19 runs.


The 33-run stand between Warner and Sharma sealed the match in favour of Sunrisers.


SUNRISERS HYDERABAD INNINGS; TARGET 163


Over 19 || Score 163/6 (Warner 93; B Sharma 27)


Praveen Kumar on for the final over. A four from David Warner, then a single


Skipper Warner carried Sunrisers Hyderabad to the final.


Over 19 || Score 158/6 (Warner 88; B Sharma 27)


Dwayne Bravo for the penultimate over. It started with a misdirected slower delivery, which was hit for a four by David Warner through point. Then a double. Good running, then another double. It was going for a four, but Aaron Finch produced an unbelievable stop at deep square boundary.


But the next ball, at the same spot, Finch failed to cut short. A four to David Warner.


The over ended with a huge straight six by Bipul Sharma. 19 runs from the over. Bravo's figures: 4-0-32-2.


Sunrisers Hyderabad need another 5 runs from 6 balls.


Over 18 || Score 139/6 (Warner 75; B Sharma 21)


Dhawal Kulkarni returned for his last over. Good over, until the fourth ball, with two singles. Then Bipul Sharma played a brilliant flick shot over fine leg for a six. A thick edge for two runs to end the over. 10 runs from it.


Kulkarni's figures: 4-0-32-0.


Sunrisers Hyderabad need another 24 runs from 12 balls.


Over 17 || Score 129/6 (Warner 74; B Sharma 12)


Lions' pace spearhead Praveen Kumar returned for his third over. And war of words ensued between him and Sunrisers captain David Warner.


A dot ball to Bipul Sharma, then a single. Then a six over long-off as Bipul made good contact. Another double, then a single.


Warner blocked the last ball, a yorker. Then, the fight. 11 runs from the over.


Sunrisers Hyderabad need another 34 runs from 18 balls.


Over 16 || Score 118/6 (Warner 74; B Sharma 1)


Dwayne Smith started his third over with an unplayable slower yorker. But the appeal from the bowler was unwarranted. Nothing was there. It was followed by another superb slower delivery.


A single off the third ball, then another dot ball.


Then, Naman Ojha failed to dispatched the low full toss. It was asking to be hit, and he hit, but only to find a running Ravindra Jadeja at deep mid-wicket.


WICKET: Naman Ojha c Ravindra Jadeja b Dwayne Bravo 10 (8b)


And it ended a 33-run stand.


TIME-OUT.


Play resumed with new man Bipul Sharma taking a single. Two runs and a wicket from the over.


Over 15 || Score 116/5 (Warner 73; Ojha 10)


Dwayne Smith returned for his second over. Two singles off the first two balls, then David Warner produced a flat hit, and it stayed hit, for a six over long-off. It was followed by a well placed four past point, along the ground. A single, then Naman Ojha ended the over with a six over square leg.


19 runs from the over. And Sunrisers Hyderabad need another 47 runs from 30 balls.


Over 14 || Score 97/5 (Warner 61; Ojha 3)


Dhawal Kulkarni on for his third over. One tidy over from the right-arm seamer. Only six runs from it.


Hyderabad scored 35 runs, losing two wickets, in the last five overs.


Sunrisers Hyderabad need another 66 runs from 36 balls.


Over 13 || Score 91/5 (Warner 57; Ojha 1)


Shivil Kaushik on for his last over.  Two singles off the first two balls, then an awesome call from umpire Nandan. Caught behind, that was the decision, but sorry. But that wasn't.


WICKET: Ben Cutting c Dinesh Karthik b Shivil Kaushik 8 (7b)


Cutting was not happy.


New man Naman Ojha took two balls took a single, then a huge six from David Warner, over mid-wicket.


Kaushik's figures: 4-0-22-2


Over 12 || Score 81/4 (Warner 50; Cutting 7)


Dwayne Bravo continued for his second over, and what a start. A deceptively slower yorker, and a shuffling Deepak Hooda trapped in front. LBW.


WICKET: Deepak Hooda lbw b Dwayne Bravo 4 (9b)


New man Ben Cutting took two balls to open his account, and thanks to a mis-field at mid-wicket, for a four.


Seven runs from the over.


Over 11 || Score 75/3 (Warner 50; Hooda 4)


Close call to start the over. Deepak Hooda survived a very quick stumping from Dinesh Karthik. The wicket-keeper had a healthy laugh after destroying the wickets, but the batsman just made the ground.


Thus, Shivil Kaushik continued surprising the batsmen in centre. Five runs from the first five balls, then a thick outside edge for a four.


With that David Warner reached his fifty.


Over 10 || Score 66/3 (Warner 43; Hooda 2)


Bowling change. Dwayne Bravo on for the Lions. And good one from the West Indian 'champion'. Four runs, all singles from it.


Sunrisers Hyderabad need another 97 runs from 60 balls.


Over 9 || Score 62/3 (Warner 41; Hooda 0)


The chinaman bowler continued, and dot ball to Yuvraj Singh. Next ball, Yuvi played his trademark inside out lofted shot, only to find Dwayne Smith waiting at long-off. Easy catch.


WICKET: Yuvraj Singh c Dwayne Smith b Shivil Kaushik 8 (13b)


TIME-OUT.


The played resumed with David Warner taking a single. Then, a huge shout for caught behind against the new man Deepak Hooda, who slipped his bat.


Two dot balls to end the huge over for the fielding team. One run and a wicket.


Over 8 || Score 61/2 (Warner 40; Yuvraj 8)


Suresh Raina continued with his second over. Not the start that he would have wanted. A straight six from David Warner. A single, then a dot ball.


A single, then a four as Warner's slap-shot slipped between the legs of Andrew Tye at cover. A dot to end the 12-run over.


Over 7 || Score 49/2 (Warner 29; Yuvraj 7)


Shivil Kaushik on! A single to David Warner, then a dot ball  Yuvraj Singh. Another dot ball, as a cautious Yuvi continued to read the spinner with mysterious bowling action.


Yuvi leant on and slashed for a single. Another single, which could have ended as a grag-on to thw wickets, followed. A dot ball to end the three-run over.


Over 6 || Score 46/2 (Warner 27; Yuvraj 6)


Brave move from Gujarat Lions skipper to introduce himself in the attack. A single to David Warner, then a dot ball to Yuvraj Singh. A single, then another dot.


A single, then another dot. Three suns from the over.


Sunrisers Hyderabad need another 117 runs from 14 overs.


Over 5 || Score 43/2 (Warner 25; Yuvraj 5)


What an start from Dwayne Smith, the bowler. A gentle loosner, and the wicket of Moises Henriques. Straight to cover for an easy catch for Eklavya Dwivedi.


WICKET: Moises Henriques c Eklavya Dwivedi b Dwayne Smith 11 (6b)


New man Yuvraj Singh hit the next ball for a four. Short and wide delivery, and played over cover, just landing inside the boundary rope.


A single, the a four through the clip cordon.


A dot, then another single to make it a 10-run over.


Over 4 || Score 33/1 (Warner 20; Henriques 11)


Dhawal Kulkarni continued with his second over, and a four to start it. Moises Henriques managed to beat the fielder at point with a uppish drive.


Three singles, then David Warner waited the slower delivery to hit a four over mid-off. A dot to end the 11-run over.


Sunrisers Hyderabad need another 130 runs from 16 overs.


Over 3 || Score 22/1 (Warner 15; Henriques 5)


Praveen Kumar continued with his second over. Two dot balls, then a single. Then Shivil Kaushik, at third man, got beaten by the timing of the ball to the boundary. And Praveen's livid. That was just a gentle cut shot from Moises Henriques.


A single, then a wide down the leg.


The over ended with a good shot from David Warner which beat two fielders at cover. Aaron Finch, chasing, flinched himself at the ball, but still a four. 11 runs from the over.


Over 2 || Score 11/1 (Warner 10; Henriques 0)


Dhawal Kulkarni on for his first over. Brilliant from Brendon McCullum to produce a direct hit from cover-point. Shikhar Dhawan gone.


WICKET: Shikhar Dhawan run out 0 (4b)


It was followed by a dot ball, then a four, though the cover. Brilliantly timed. Two more dot balls, then single to end the over.


Moises Henriques is the new man. Five runs from the over.


Over 1 || Score 6/0 (Warner 5; Dhawan 0)


Praveen Kumar started the proceedings.


A four off the first ball, as David Warner flicked the in-swinger from Praveen towards square leg, and beat the chasing fielder to the rope. A dot ball, the a single.


A dot ball Shikhar Dhawan, then a uppish cover drive for no runs. Dhawan came down to play on the leg side, but a leg-bye.


Six runs from the first over.


GUJARAT LIONS INNINGS


Over 20 || Score 162/7 (Jadeja 19; Kulkarni 3)


Bhuvneshwar Kumar on for the last over of the innings. A single to Ravindra Jadeja, then a wide.


A double to Dwayne Bravo, then the wicket. Should have been a wide down the leg, but it played on to the stumps.


WICKET: Dwayne Bravo b Bhuvneshwar Kumar 20 (10b)


Then, Jadeja and Dhawal Kulkarni ran three as Hyderabad fielders messed around. Potential result altering moment, just like that of Ben Cutting's fielding effort.


A single, the a dot ball to end the innings. 53 runs from the last five overs.


Eight runs from the over, and Bhuvi's figures: 4-0-27-2.


Over 19 || Score 154/6 (Jadeja 17; Bravo 18)


What an start to the penultimate over. Dwayne 'Champion' Bravo hit two fours off the first two balls — a classic cover drive and cut shot, to good effect.


A single, the a wide. Another single, then third four of the over. Bravo got lucky with a thick outside edge of a full toss. A dot, and 15 runs from the over.


Boult's figures: 4-0-39-1.


This's where Hyderabad will miss Mustafizur Rahman today.


Over 18 || Score 139/6 (Jadeja 16; Bravo 5)


Ben Cutting on for his third over. A single to Ravindra Jadeja, then a four from the blade of Aaron Finch. Poor effort from Barinder Sran at fine leg. It could have been easily fielded, for a two.


That brought up fifty partnership between Finch and Jadeja, also a fifty for the Aussie.


But the next ball, a full toss on the body, and Finch played on. Big Wicket!


WICKET: Aaron Finch b Ben Cutting 50 (32b)


New man Dwayne Bravo started his innings with a four. Lucky one. Fine nick. 10 runs from the over.


Over 17 || Score 129/5 (Finch 46; Jadeja 15)


Bhuvneshwar Kumar returned for his third over. Nine runs from the over, as Ravinder Jadeja hit the penultimate ball of the over for a straight four. Five singles and back-to-back good over the batting side.


Over 16 || Score 120/5 (Finch 44; Jadeja 8)


Now Barinder Sran on focus as Aaron Finch started toying with Sunrisers bowlers. Sran dropped the Aussie in the 12th over, when the batsman was on 13.


Trent Boult returned for his third over and it resulted in 11 runs with Finch hit back-to-back fours off the last two balls.


Over 15 || Score 109/5 (Finch 35; Jadeja 5)


Ben Cutting just won the match for Hyderabad, by saving five runs at deep mid-wicket? Aaron Finch's mis-timed shot was going for a six, for sure, until gravity defying Cutting jumped to pluck one out of thin air. He caught it and threw back, into field of play, restricting to a single as an awestruck Finch looked on.


That happened off the second ball.


But the over still went for nine runs as Finch hit the last ball for a four.


TIME-OUT.


Over 14 || Score 100/5 (Finch 29; Jadeja 3)


Huge over for the batting side. 17 runs, with Aaron Finch coming to the fore.


Moises Henriques returned for third over, and started with a double to Ravindra Jadeja.


A single, then, Finch hit a four through cover, then another six over mid-wicket. A dot ball, then another four, this time one bounce to mid-wicket fence.


And the Lions also reached 100.


Over 13 || Score 83/5 (Finch 15; Jadeja 0)


Brilliant over from Ben Cutting. Two singles and a wicket. Big one.


After a dot ball, Dwayne Smith took a single. Aaron Finch rotated the strike with another single. Then, Smith Played a lofted shot only to find Shikhar Dhawan waiting at deep cover. Well taken.


WICKET: Dwayne Smith c Shikhar Dhawan b Ben Cutting 1 (3b)


Ravindra Jadeja is the new man.


Over 12 || Score 81/4 (Finch 14; Smith 0)


What an over from Bipul Sharma. Four runs and a wicket, that of dangerous Brendon McCullum.


Three singles off the first three balls, then a drop chance. Aaron Finch top-edged and Barinder Sran dropped. He had no business calling for it. It was wicket-keeper's, at short fine leg.


A single, followed, then the wicket. McCullum lofted and holed out at deep cover.


WICKET: Brendon McCullum c Bhuvneshwar Kumar b Bipul Sharma 32 (29b)


Dwayne Smith is the new man.


Over 11 || Score 77/3 (McCullum 30; Finch 12)


Barinder Sran returned for his second over and 10 runs from it.


The over started with a four, as Aaron Finch pulled behind square. It was followed by a six, over long-off. Huge one, 103 metres.


Sran did well to produced four dot balls.


Over 10 || Score 67/3 (McCullum 30; Finch 2)


A tidy over from Moises Henriques. Four runs — all singles. The medium pacer has conceded 10 runs from the two overs so far. His role with both the bat and ball will be crucial for Hyderabad today.


Over 9 || Score 63/3 (McCullum 28; Finch 0)


A big over for the batting side, at the expense of Dinesh Karthik's wicket.


Bipul Sharma, on for his second over, started with a single to Brendon McCullum, then a four to Dinesh Karthik. The Lions wicket-keeper batsman played a pull shot, and the ball raced through wide long-on.


A six followed as Ben Cutting made a mess out of a catch, and palmed over for a six over deep mid-wicket boundary.


Then the run out of Karthik. Miscommunication, and gone.


WICKET: Dinesh Karthik run out 26 (19b)


11 runs from the over.


Over 8 || Score 52/2 (McCullum 27; Karthik 16)


Moises Henriques got his first over. And a brilliant stroke from Dinesh Karthik meant that the over started with a four. Karthik came down the pitch and manouevered through extra-cover.


Three dot balls, and a single. Another single to end the six-run over.


TIME-OUT.


Over 7 || Score 46/2 (McCullum 26; Karthik 11)


Another bowling change. Ben Cutting on for SRH.


Two singles off the first two balls, then a dot ball to Brendon McCullum. It was followed by yet another short ball, relatively slower than the previous one, and McCullum played it over mid-off for a four.


And the sight-screen issues continued for the bastman. It looked like a couple of volunteers langouring near it.


A quick single off the fifth ball, which was a yorker. Another single to end the eight-run over.


Over 6 || Score 38/2 (McCullum 20; Karthik 9)


Another bowling change. Bipul Sharma on for Hyderabad. Two dot balls to Dinesh Karthik, then a four off the third ball, with the batsman playing a good judged sweep shot over short fine-leg fielder.


Two singles, and dot ball to end the six-run over.


Power-play over.


Over 5 || Score 32/2 (McCullum 19; Karthik 4)


Bowling change, and Barinder Sran on for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Two dot balls to Brendon McCullum, the the third ball — a little cutter, short and slow — got punished as McCullum pulled with some power. A dot ball, then a very wide wide down the leg.


Good reaction from the bowler. Reacting to McCullum's charge, Sran banged it short and moved away for another dot.


But the next ball, a pretty bad one. McCullum picked the ball from outside off, and flicked for a four.  Nine runs from the over.


Over 4 || Score 23/2 (McCullum 11; Karthik 4)


Trent Boult continued with his second over. An over-pitched delivery on the off stump, and good drive from Suresh Raina. David Warner fielded well at mid-off to deny Raina any run. Then the wicket. LBW, trapped in front. Raina played across and missed the ball. Bad choice of shot selection from the skipper.


WICKET: Suresh Raina lbw b Trent Boult 1 (5b)


Dinesh Karthik, the new man, took two balls to hit the first four. A well-timed cover drive. Two dot balls, and four runs from the over, and a wicket too.


Over 3 || Score 19/1 (McCullum 11; Raina 1)


Bhuvneshwar Kumar continued his second over. Two dot balls to Suresh Raina, then a single off the third ball as the Lions skipper pushed towards mid-on. Then a brutal cut shot, which was brilliantly stopped by a diving Shikhar Dhawan at sweeper cover. Two runs. Saved two.


Two more dot balls, and just three runs from the over.


Over 2 || Score 16/1 (McCullum 9; Raina 0)


First over from Trent Boult this season, and nine runs from it. He started with a wide, then two dot balls to Brendon McCullum. The former Kiwi skipper smashed away the third official ball through cover. Bad ball, short and wide from his former team-mate.


A dot ball, then another four, this time through mid-wicket. Raced away. A dot to end the over.


Over 1 || Score 7/1 (McCullum 1; Raina 0)


Surprise from Gujarat Lions. Young Eklavya Dwivedi faced the first ball from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. A single off the first ball. Back of length and played towards fine leg. Good delivery from Bhuvi, bringing in to Brendon McCullum, and the Kiwi played towards mid-on for another single.


A dot ball to Dwivedi followed. Then the youngster came down the pitch and swung hard for a thick outside edge, and a four, beating the third man fielder to the rope. It was followed by a swing and miss. Missed completely, but lucky.


A short ball, and wide down the leg. Then a late cut resulted in the wicket of Dwivedi. Caught at third man by Trent Boult.


WICKET: Eklavya Dwivedi c Trent Boult b Bhuvneshwar Kumar 5 (5b)


Suresh Rains is the new man. Lions probably miscalculated by opening with raw Dwivedi.


The absence of Mustafizur Rahman will certainly give the Lions an upperhand, but Fizz's replacement Trent Boult is capable of wreaking havoc. His only concern, and for Sunrisers, is the Kiwi quick hasn't played for close to two months.


Playing XIs


Gujarat Lions: Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina (capt.), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Dwayne Smith, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Eklavya Dwivedi, Praveen Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shivil Kaushik


Sunrisers Hyderabad: Shikhar Dhawan, David Warner (capt.), Moises Henriques, Yuvraj Singh, Deepak Hooda, Naman Ojha (wk), Ben Cutting, Bipul Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Barinder Sran, Trent Boult


TOSS: Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner won the toss and he invited Gujarat Lions to bat first in Delhi. But the big news is, Mustafizur Rahman is not playing.


First look of the pitch



MATCH OFFICIALS


Umpires: Marais Erasmus and Nandan
Third Umpire: Shamshuddin
Match Referee: Roshan Mahanama
Reserve Umpire: Navdeep Singh


SQUADS


Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (capt.), Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh, Moises Henriques, Eoin Morgan, Deepak Hooda, Naman Ojha, Karn Sharma, Mustafizur Rahman, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Barinder Sran, Trent Boult, Ben Cutting, Kane Williamson, Ashish Reddy, Ricky Bhui, Bipul Sharma, Siddarth Kaul, Abhimanyu Mithun, Vijay Shankar, T Suman, Aditya Tare.


Gujarat Lions: Suresh Raina (capt.), Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Dale Steyn, James Faulkner, Ishan Kishan, Praveen Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shivil Kaushik, Dwayne Bravo, Sarabjit Ladda, Amit Mishra, Akashdeep Nath, Paras Dogra, Eklavya Dwivedi, Shadab Jakati, Pradeep Sangwan, Jaydev Shah, Umang Sharma, Pravin Tambe, Andrew Tye.


PREVIEW: Calling this clash a qualifier is little under-stating. It's the semi-final, the big clash before the final.


After leading the 2016 Indian Premier League table for most part of the season, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Lions find themselves fighting for a place in the big final, against Virat Kohli's marauding Royal Challengers Bangalore.


At Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla, Gujarat Lions will play hosts to Sunrisers Hyderabad. The Suresh Raina-led outfit faced the wrath of AB de Villiers in Qualifier 1, and now, this is the chance they can't afford to lose.


For sure, they are top team, and winning the title in the first attempt will be great for the new franchise. Yes, for that they need to first beat a confident team from Hyderabad today in the virtual semi-final.


The David Warner-led side is probably the most balanced of the three remaining. Their batting strength is ably supported by the bowling attack, which has the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mustafizur Rahman.


Sunrisers have played their Eliminator at the same venue. Their convincing win over another consistent side Kolkata Knight Riders speaks volumes of the team's confidence. Yuvraj Singh middling the ball, producing run-outs and intimidating the opponents are just about the factor that the team needed from the celebrated player.


Besides, Sunrisers will enter the knock-out as favourites thanks to their wins in the round-robin phase.


Having said that, no one can ignore a team which has the likes of Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch, Dwayne Bravo, Dhawal Kulkarni and the skipper Raina himself.


READ FULL PREVIEW HERE


Welcome to our live coverage of the Qualifier 2 of 2016 Indian Premier League between Gujarat Lions and Sunrisers Hyderabad being played at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi.