Dhawan leads Sunrisers to easy victory

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.

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.

Earlier, Sangakkara smashed his way to an unbeaten 61 and joined forces with skipper Lahiru Thirimanne (54) to help his side to a respectable total.

Ishant Sharma was the best bowler to watch as he gaveaway just 20 runs taking two crucial wickets.