Andrew Tye took his second T20 hat-trick as Gujarat Lions got off the mark in the IPL for 2017 with a comfortable win over Pune.
After dropping Englishman Jason Roy for Tye, the Gujarat top-order needed to deliver, with Dwayne Smith (47) and Brendon McCullum (49) coming through with the goods. The Lions did throw in a fight but skipper Suresh Raina along with Aaron Finch ensured that there were no hiccups in knocking off the remainder of the target.
It took the table-toppers of the previous edition, Gujarat Lions, three games to finally get off the mark, and when the win arrived, it did in style.
Brief Scores: Rising Pune Supergiant 171/8 (Steve Smith 43, Rahul Tripathi 33, Manoj Tiwary 31, Andrew Tie 5/17) vs Gujarat Lions. Smith's 28-ball 43, laced with six fours and a six, came in an integral partnership that didn't just calm their early nerves borne out of Rahane's dismissal, but also put them on course for a daunting total. The former Kiwi skipper, who had by then faced 32 balls, firing five boundaries and three massive sixes was outsmarted by Chahar, who dragged the length back seeing McCullum coming down the track leaving the rest for stumper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Tye picked up Rahul Tripathi in his first over of the match, and from there on the pacer got huge confidence.
Blue Jackets-Maple Leafs Preview
Joonas Korpisalo stopped 30-of-32 shots to earn the win for the Jackets, who are set for a first-round matchup against Pittsburgh. Brown got the victor when he tipped a Jake Gardiner shot past Marc-Andre Fleury, with Nazem Kadri screening the goalie.
Bowling his third over on the trot, the 30-year-old medium pacer was milked for 25 runs, with Tripathi dispatching him for two consecutive sixes and a four before Smith fetched two back to back boundaries as Pune rushed to their fastest IPL 50.
As Pune looked set for a massive total, Tye ended the 64-run second wicket stand between the duo, dismissing Tripathi with a slower delivery, which the batsman failed to lift and was caught by Aaron Finch at mid-off.
Smith was the next to depart when he mistimed a Dwayne Smith delivery to Finch at long-on with the Supergiant scoreboard reading 89 for two in 9.2 overs. He claimed the wickets of Ankit Sharma, Manoj Tiwari, and Shardul Thakur in the last over for his hat-trick.
Another hat-trick, this one for Samuel Badree, reduced Mumbai to seven for four chasing 143 but Kieron Pollard (70) and Krunal Pandya (37 not out) powered them to victory as Mills gave up 36 runs in 3.5 overs, including the winning six by Hardik Pandya.
Comments