Mohali: 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 on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, in the earlier match skipper Brendon McCullum led from the front by smashing an unbeaten 83 as Otago Volts from New Zealand comfortably beat Pakistan’s Faisalabad Wolves, also by eight wickets.
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.
The Sunrisers made 174/2 in 18.3 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.
Earlier, opting to bat, the Misbah-ul Haq led Wolves could manage only 139 for eight in the wake of some controlled bowling from the Otago bowlers.
Pacers Ian Butler (2/23), James McMillan (2/24) and James Neesham (2/26) all bowled well with only Misbah making a significant contribution with 46 off 34 balls.
In reply, McCullum hit an unbeaten 83 from just 65 balls studded with nine fours and two sixes, besides sharing a 41-run stand for the second wicket with Hamish Rutherford (25) before putting on an unbeaten 101-run partnership with Derek de Boorder (30 not out).
Otago lost opener Neil Broom for a duck but Rutherford (25) and McCullum quickly stamped their authority.
While McCullum adopted a cautious approach at the start, left-handed Rutherford attacked the bowling, hitting a six each in three consecutive overs. The Kiwi team polished off the target in 17.5 overs. (PTI)