A well made half-century by Abdul Razzaq helped Hyderabad Heroes humiliate Chandigarh Lions by nine wickets at the Tau Devi Lal stadium in Gurgaon on Sunday.
The former Pakistan all-rounder gave his team a steady start along with fellow opener Jimmy Maher. The duo played a balanced and cautious innings to guide their team towards the victory target of 142 runs.
Razzaq was ultimately dismissed for 66 in the 17th over by medium-pacer Amit Uniyal. But by then the Heroes, who were on 123 at the time, were well and truly on the road to victory.
Razzaq's innings, which took 61 balls, was studded with seven boundaries and two sixes.
Ambati Rayudu, who was next batsman in, continued the good work, plundering 20 runs off just 9 balls.
Maher remained unbeaten with a well made 48 off 41 balls.
Earlier, Chandigarh Lions' skipper Chris Cairns won the toss and elected to bat. They were off to a good start but the Heroes soon hit back with Shekar Reddy trapping Lou Vincent (20, 15 balls) leg before in the fifth over. Their skipper Chris Cairns was the next to go, being caught by S Binny off the bowling of Razzaq.
The Hyderabad bowlers kept up the pressure, forcing their opponents to lose wickets at regular intervals.
The 42-run partnership between former Indian batsman Dinesh Mongia and Tejinder Pal Singh managed to hold them at bay for sometime, but it was not enough to ensure a winning total for the Lions.
