Frenzied fans celebrate Sunrisers' win

Hyderabad, May 19 (IANS):

Frenzied fans of Sunrisers Hyderabad filled the Rajiv Gandhi international stadium here Sunday night to support the home team, which stormed into the play-offs of the sixth Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL).

Over 32,000 spectators cheered the home team in their last league match, which it won against Kolkata Knight Riders to become the fourth semifinalist.

Clad in Sunrisers T-shirts and holding the team flags, the die-hard fans first cheered the home team for the every KKR wicket its bowlers took and later for every boundary and six its batsmen hit.

Parthiv Patel (47 off 37 balls, 7×4) and Shikhar Dhawan (42 off 35 balls, 3×4, 2×6) did not disappoint the holiday crowd, which filled the stands an hour before the match began.

The openers were lustily cheered when they went after the KKR bowlers to dominate the proceedings. However, the victory for the home team came after some anxious moments as the loss of five wickets after the opening stand put it in trouble.

The crowd erupted when Darren Sammy hit Iqbal Abdullah to consecutive six over long-on to clinch the victory for the home team, which won seven out of its eight matches on the home grounds.

The team thanked the crowd for their support by taking a victory lap.

The crowds were jubilant as Sunrisers, the new Hyderabad franchise replacing Deccan Chargers, made it to play-offs on its debut.

“It is a great moment that Hyderabad team has entered the semi-finals. We hope that it will become champions this year,” said Ramesh Reddy, an employee of a pharmaceutical company.

Sunrisers will meet Rajasthan Royals in the second semifinal to be played in Delhi on May 22.