CLT20 PHOTOS: Davids, Rudolph help Titans ease past Sunrisers

Titans defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets in a Group B match of the Champions League Twenty20 Match at JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi on Saturday. 

Chasing a modest 146 to win, the visitors romped home with 21 balls to spare, thanks largely to a 112-run opening wicket partnership with captain Henry Davids and Jacques Rudolph. 

- Scorecard

Earlier, Titans skipper Davids won the toss and elected to field in overcast conditions. 

Teams:

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Parthiv Patel (wk), J P Duminy, Thisara Perera, Darren Sammy, Biplab Samantray, Hanuma Vihari, Karn Sharma, Amit Mishra, Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma. 

Titans: Henry Davids (c), Jacques Rudolph, AB de Villiers, Farhaan Behardien, Heino Kuhn, Roelof van der Merwe, David Wiese, Mangaliso Mosehle (wk), Morne Morkel, Marchant de Lange and Rowan Richards.

Parthiv Patel (26) and skipper Shikhar Dhawan (37) made a fiery start to Sunrisers' innings with a 62-run opening stand that came off just 39 balls.

Sent into bat, Dhawan and Parthiv gave away a flying start to Sunrisers' innings. The duo cut, pulled and drove Titans' pacers to all parts
of the ground and did not allow them to settle down. 

Dhawan continued his sublime form and got off the mark with a four through the fine leg boundary while Patel slashed Morne Morkel for a six over covers early into his innings. 

Dhawan smashed seven fours and a six in his 21-ball 37 before he was holed out to Morkel off Wiese.

The Sunrisers lost the plot after Dhawan's dismissal and failed to keep the momentum going as David Wiese delivered two more blows in subsequent overs.

Wiese cleaned up Parthiv (26) in his next over before sending back Hanuma Vihari (6).

Wiese picked up three crucial wickets giving away just 17 runs to bring Titans back into the match, restricting the Hyderabad team to a modest 145 for seven.

Towards the end Dale Steyn came up with a 12-ball 27-run to lift the Sunrisers to the modest total.

Steyn gave the much-needed impetus to Sunrisers' innings with his quickfire unbeaten knock. He smashed Marchant de Lange for two fours and as many sixes in the final over of the innings to give some respectability to the Sunrisers total.

The South African was also Hyderabad's best bowler, with figures of one for 23. 

Titans skipper Henry Davids (64) and Jacques Rudolph (49 not out) put on a century stand to lead their side to a crushing eight-wicket win.

Davids continued his good form and reached his second half century of the tournament as he smashed seven boundaries and clobbered four sixes in his 42-ball 64 knock. 

Rudolph missed a deserved half century as he remained unbeaten on 49 with three fours and two sixes, while Heino Kuhn (15 off 8) too was unconquered, steering the side home. 

Davids' dismissal off Dale Steyn came too late for the Sunrisers as the openers had put the Titans in a winning position.