CLT20 PHOTOS: McCullum blasts Otago to easy victory over Hyderabad

Brendon McCullum blasted a quickfire half-century to lift Otago Volts to a crushing five-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the sixth and final qualifying match of the Champions League T20, in Mohali, on Friday.

- Scorecard

Captain McCullum led from the front as he smashed 67 not out from 39 balls as Otago cruised to 144 for five in 16.2 overs to win with 22 deliveries to spare.

Earlier, JP Duminy's half-century had helped Sunrisers Hyderabad recover to a respectable 143 for five after a few early wickets.

After scoring two half-centuries in the first two matches, Shikhar Dhawan (12) suffered a rare failure when he was dismissed by Nathan McCullum.

The Hyderabad captain jumped down the track to the off-spinner but ended up hitting the ball straight to Ryan ten Doeschate at mid-on after scoring 12.

Parthiv Patel was the first wicket to fall when he also perished for the same score, while Biplab Samantray fell for eight to leave Hyderabad in trouble at 45 for three in the eighth over.

Duminy and Cameron White steadied the innings as they put on a stand of 40 runs off 36 balls, before the latter was dismissed by Neil Wagner.

Duminy smashed 57 from 38 balls, with the help of seven boundaries, as Hyderabad went on the attack in the last few overs.

Darren Sammy provided the much-needed impetus at the end as he slammed 26 from 22 balls, adding 58 runs for the fifth wicket with Duminy, to take the total to 143 for five.

Otago openers Neil Broom and Hamish Rutherford went on the attack right from the start.

Broom hit pacer Dale Steyn for a boundary in the first over of the innings before launching Ishant Sharma for a boundary and a six in the next over.

Rutherford went after leg-spinner Karan Sharma, who was introduced in the fourth over, with back to back boundaries as Otago raced to 50 in the sixth over.

Steyn brought some cheer to his fans as he claimed the wickets of both openers - Broom and Rutherford - but Otago were always in control courtesy of their good start.

Rutherford hit 27 from 23 balls, adding 53 runs from 40 balls for the second wicket with Brendon McCullum to put Otago in control.

Brendon McCullum got off the mark in some style as he lofted Sammy over square leg for a six off the first ball he faced. He charged down the track to Amit Mishra a couple of overs later and hit him over mid-off for another six and repeated the dose in the next over from Karan Sharma.

McCullum's attacking display saw Otago being comfortably placed at 80 for two in 10 overs.

Ishant Sharma also suffered at the hands of McCullum, who hit for two sixes and two fours in the 15th over, to race to his half-century from 33 balls.

James Neesham continued Otago's attacking approach as he hit a quick 21 from 13 balls before he was dismissed by Sammy.

McCullum was unbeaten on 67 from 39 balls, having hit five sixes and five fours, as Otago registered their third victory in a row in the qualifiers to enter the main round of the tournament in a confident frame of mind.