Gujarat Lions batsman Aaron Finch said he and his teammates could only stand and appreciate the match-winning knock of David Warner, who single-handedly crushed their hopes and took Sunrisers Hyderabad to the Indian Premier League (IPL) summit clash with his majestic 93 in Qualifier 2 on Friday night.

In the Qualifier 1 also, Lions were inches away from the final but for a gritty knock from AB de Villiers.

After scoring 162 for seven , Lions had Hyderabad at 84 for five and then 117 for six but skipper Warner carried his bat and saw his side through to the final where his team will face the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore.

"Tonight, I think that we had a very competitive total, it was around par. 170 would have been nice as it turns out, but two (De Villiers and Warner) of the best players in the world have both got big scores against us in the last two games. Sometimes you just have to take your hat off and appreciate how good cricketers the two are. And say well played," Finch said at the post match press conference.

The Australian was effusive in praise of his compatriot.

"It was an amazing knock, wasn't it? The way that he controlled the innings and went right through and got them home was outstanding. We have been at the receiving end of a couple of great knocks in this tournament, and it is just that one batter in every couple of games seems to get us," Finch said.

"AB (De Villiers) in the last game and Davey (Warner) tonight. We can hold our head up very high. We played some really great cricket throughout this tournament but unfortunately we just couldn't get the world-class players out when it counted right at the end there."

Asked which Indian player impressed him the most in the entire Lions campaign in their debut season, Finch named spinner Shivil Kaushik.

"I think we have seen an unusual spinner in this tournament in Shivil. He has been outstanding for us. Anyone who can bowl with an unusual action like that and who can spin the ball both ways is a huge asset, and he has been outstanding," Finch said.

The attacking batsman also mentioned Kaushik's impact spell in last night's match, where he gave away only four runs in two overs and eventually 22 in four. His tight bowling in the middle overs put pressure on Hyderabad batsmen, keeping his side in the hunt.

"It was beautiful the way that he bowled tonight. Under pressure in a big game, to come back into the team after a few games out just shows a real lot of character and someone who hasn't had cricket given to him easily. He has had to work very hard for what he has achieved. He was great all season and I think he can play a big part going forward," he said.

Dhawal Kulkarni’s sensational opening burst of fast bowling rocked Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to their very core but somebody had obviously forgotten to inform AB de Villiers that Gujarat Lions (GL) were in control of the game.

RCB had lost five wickets in five overs (5.3 overs to be precise) and had literally gone belly-up, but the unflappable ABD soaked up the pressure, carved up the attack and turned the tables magnificently to power his team into the final of the IPL with a four-wicket win.

Earlier, the light drizzle at the innings change-over had sent RCB into a tizzy as they chased of a modest target of 159. “The skipper Virat Kohli was a bundle of energy at the break telling us how to overcome that and plan the chase. I told him ‘look Virat, you’re the thinker. Me, I’d just play it as it comes,” revealed ABD at the media briefing after the match.

And how marvellously it came to him on a night when RCB had been literally brought to their knees. The home team were reeling at 29 for 5 and later 68 for 6 but, as GL’s Dwayne Smith summed up after the match, the visitors being in control was an illusion and “not while De Villiers was still at the wicket.”

In a team flush with match-winners, what made ABD special, particularly in a match like this, was the ability to suss the situation and, more importantly, to be able to play accordingly.
“I felt when we were bowling that 160 would be a difficult score to chase on this pitch. It was a peculiar one with the ball not really coming on to the bat,” he said.

One such delivery accounted for the wicket of RCB’s prolific run-machine Kohli. The batsman, conscious of impending rains which had already hit a few parts of the city and hence wary of the Duckworth- Lewis Rain rule which would kick in after the completion of five overs, did not attempt to play himself in as he customarily does. He went after a widish delivery but succeeded in only dragging the ball onto his stumps. GL were ecstatic with the dismissal while the capacity crowd was stunned into silence. RCB’s hero who had amassed a mind-boggling 913 runs this season had been dismissed for a second-ball duck. They simply could not comprehend that.

In Kulkarni’s next over Gayle was similarly dismissed, this time while playing a wild heave off the front foot. The consistent KL Rahul was prised out first ball by a peach of a delivery and with Shane Watson (1) and Sachin Baby (0) too sent packing, the wheels had literally come off RCB’s run chase.

Or so we thought. All the while, and even when Stuart Binny (21, 15b, 2x4, 1x6) took the lead in a crucial 39-run sixth wicket partnership, ABD was biding his time and sizing up the pitch and bowlers.

“As soon as Iqbal Abdullah came into bat and played out an over I realised that he was up to the task. Sometimes you get that feeling. The way his eyes lit up and the manner in which he shaped up, I knew I did not have to tell him anything. In fact he was counselling me. It was obvious that he had been in such tough situations before,” said ABD singing praises of RCB’s unexpected man of the hour who had shared that match-winning unbroken seventh-wicket stand of 91 runs in 8.4 overs.

The South African master batsmen had kept RCB in the fight with the odd boundary even as he ran his singles and twos with gusto. The tiny left-handed Abdullah too had wasted no time in squeezing the ball into the gaps and giving the strike back to ABD.

At the end of the 14th over with RCB at 96 for six and requiring to score at 11 runs per over, ABD said Kohli had sent word not to leave it to the end and that he feared it could rain any moment. This was just the trigger for the master blaster. The crowd simply went berserk and the bowlers withered as he went hammer and tongs at the attack as only he can. Lofted drives, pull shots off the front and back foot, reverse sweeps -- this was vintage ABD stamping his authority on the opposition in no uncertain terms. Abdullah too chipped in with a flurry of boundaries as RCB raced home in style.

 4002 Runs for Virat Kohli in his IPL career. In his innings of 113 against Kings XI Punjab, he became the first batsman to complete 4000 runs in the IPL, going past Suresh Raina's tally of 3985. Before the start of the season, Kohli was fourth on the list.

4 Centuries for Kohli in this IPL - most by a player in a single T20 tournament. Michael Klinger had scored three centuries in the Natwest Blast T20 in 2015. Only one batsman has scored more centuries than Kohli in all IPLs - five by Chris Gayle. Incidentally, Kohli had not scored any centuries in his first 180 T20 innings before making four centuries in nine innings.

14.06 Royal Challengers' run rate in this match - 211 runs from 15 overs - the highest for a team's innings of six or more overs in IPL. Their run rate when they scored 263, the highest total in T20s, against Pune Warriors was 13.15. On Thursday, they did not score more than six runs in any of the first three overs. But they scored at least 10 runs in each of the last 12 overs of the innings; 18 or more runs in eight of those.

11 Scores of 75 or more for Kohli in T20s this year - most by a batsman in a calendar year. Gayle had 10 such scores in two years - 2011 and 2015. Kohli has converted 11 of his 16 50-plus scores into scores of 75 or more this year in just 25 innings.
2042 Runs scored by Kohli in T20s at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. He became the first batsman to aggregate 2000 or more runs at a single venue in T20s.

47 Balls in which Kohli got to his hundred, which is his fastest among his four centuries. His first century came off 63 balls against Gujarat Lions, second in 56 balls against Rising Pune Supergiants and third in 53 balls against Lions.

13.36 Run rate of the 147-run opening stand between Gayle and Kohli - second-highest in a century stand for first wicket in IPL. Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith had scored 109 runs at 14.86 for Chennai Super Kings against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium in IPL 2015. Gayle and Kohli also completed 2500 runs as a pair in T20s. They also have the most century stands - eight.

4 Opening partnerships of 50 or more runs for Royal Challengers in their last six matches, including this match. In their first seven matches, they did not have even one such stand.

226 Kohli's strike rate in this innings of 113 off 50 balls, his highest in a T20 innings of 20 or more balls. This is the first time he has had a strike rate of more than 200 in a T20 innings batting 20 or more balls.

Quinton de Kock anchored the Delhi Daredevils' chase of RCB's 191 with an innings full of flair and strokeplay.

We felt the Royal Challengers Bangalore were 20-odd runs short of what they would have needed on this wicket and the momentum they maintained for the most part of their innings. In the end, the Delhi batting line-up was not tested much, partly due to RCB's underperformance at the death and due to Quinton de Kock's scintillating shotmaking.

Watson was a breath of fresh air, featuring in every department: bat, ball and in the field. On which note, do yourself a favour and watch this Christlike miracle one more time:

But that moment of brilliance wasn't enough to thwart the Daredevils, who bowled some excellent overs at the death of RCB's innings (courtesy Chris Morris and Mohammad Shami), then maintained scoring momemtum really well despite the early wicket (courtesy Wiese-Watson), and then... de Kock happened.

Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli says this loss is tough to swallow. Underscores how important it is for bowlers to believe they can get a wicket every ball, and that batsmen can sense hesitation on the bowler's part. An interesting insight every time Kohli speaks.

Delhi Daredevils captain Zaheer Khan says his bad over helped him realise that his bowlers must bowl back of length. Hm, great example of self-effacing captaincy. He gives credit to Shami and Morris, but also questions the wisdom of having removed Gayle from the middle with such haste.

Man of the Match Quinton de Kock says it was a good wicket where looking to hit good cricket shots and running the twos got them through. Most of these were done by him, just saying.

DD 192/3 after 19.1 overs (JP Duminy 7 off 5 | K Nayar 54 off 42 || win by 7 wickets)

Some comedy there at the very end with just the one to get. JP Duminy plays it back to the bowler Chahal, who flicks it back to the non-striker's stumps, misses, and the batsmen run the overthrow.

DD 191/3 after 19 overs (JP Duminy 6 off 4 | K Nayar 54 off 42 || need 1 from 6 balls)

De Kock (108 from 51) can't, sadly, stay to bring it home for his team after all the work. Watson has him caught behind off a riser. Duminy comes in and takes up from where his Saffer teammate left off, drilling a short wide one through the Covers for four. A leg bye and a two later, the over ends and DD are left with just 1 to get.

DD 183/2 after 18 overs (de Kock 108 off 50 | K Nayar 53 off 41 || need 9 from 12 balls)

De Kock, de Kock, de Kock! Centurion off 48 balls. Yet again with a sliced square-cut. Applause is sadly very limited for the away batsman despite a genuinely great innings. The crowd goes even quieter when he thick-edges a Wiese slower one through Third-man for four. And then a scorcher that scrapes the floor the whole time through the Covers.

DD 171/2 after 17 overs (de Kock 99 off 47 | K Nayar 51 off 38 || need 21 from 18 balls)

Nayar does get to his milestone first. A classy straight loft for six takes him closer, and he completes the formality with a single. Didn't think he was getting any runs, Nayar. Slowly and silently built his score. Meanwhile, de Kock reaches 99 with a four off the final ball of Harshal's over.

DD 158/2 after 16 overs (de Kock 94 off 45 | K Nayar 43 off 44 || need 34 from 24 balls)

Nayar nudges a four past the keeper to take the partnership past 100 runs. De Kock slashes the same bowler through Extra Cover for four to move into the 90s. Nayar closing in on his fifty. Who will get to their milestone first? Meanwhile, Daredevils looking comfortable to get this total, by all conservative estimates.

DD 146/2 after 15 overs (de Kock 88 off 42 | K Nayar 37 off 31 || need 46 from 30 balls)

Watson comes back in for his third over. Decidedly bowling into the body of the right-hander, towards middle and leg. Still gets struck on the up by the left-hander de Kock down the ground for four.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Rising Pune Supergiants would look to get their IPL campaign back on track after losing to Gujarat Lions. They have a brilliant opportunity at hand as they face a demoralised Kings XI Punjab, who are yet to win a game. Get live cricket score and updates of Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) vs Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) here. (LIVE SCORECARD | POINTS TABLE | FIXTURES | NEWS | LIVE STREAMING | PLAY FANTASY CRICKET)

16:18 hrs IST: Now du Plessis joins in! FOUR!!!! These have decided to target Patel! 14 off the 4th over!

16:17 hrs IST: And Pietersen gets into the act immediately! Consecutive boundaries off Axar Patel.

16:16 hrs IST: Kevin Pietersen and Faf du Plessis at the crease. If these 2 can go on, RPS can get a big score here.

16:15 hrs IST:RPS 13/1! Three runs and a wicket from the third over!

16:12 hrs IST: Rahane played it early, inside edge and leg stump knocked out!

16:10 hrs IST:Bowled!!!! Rahane trying to be aggressive, plays on and is bowled by Sandeep Sharma!

16:09 hrs IST: Another boundary from Rahane in the second over, RPS 10 for no loss.

16:04 hrs IST: Five dot balls and one boundary. Sums up the first over!

16:02 hrs IST:FOUR!!!!! off the fourth ball of the match! Rahane off the mark!

15:59 hrs IST: Faf du Plessis and Ajinkya out to bat for RPS while Sandeep Sharma to open the proceedings for the Punjab team!

15:55 hrs IST: Meanwhile, Gujarat Lions all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will tie the knot today. Watch his sword skills here.

15:53 hrs IST: The PCA Stadium is filling up. Lot of IPL enthusiasts can be seen entering the stadium, braving the heat!

15:45 hrs IST: Kings XI desperately need a win today. Even though it is only the start of the tournament, a third consecutive loss will put them way behind everyone in the league. They will find it really tough to enter the knockouts then.

15:44 hrs IST: And we see MS Dhoni warm-up with Kevin Pietersen!

15:41 hrs IST: RPS on the other hand have made as many as three changes! Mitchell Marsh, Rudra Pratap Singh and Rajat Bhatia have been replaced by Irfan Pathan, Ankit Sharma and Thisara Perera!

15:40 hrs IST: Kings XI have made only one change. Abbot comes in to replace Mitchell Johnson.

15:39 hrs IST: And here are the playing XI of both the teams:

Kings XI Punjab: Murali Vijay, Manan Vohra, Shaun Marsh, David Miller, Glenn Maxwell, Axar Patel, Wriddhiman Saha, Mohit Sharma, Kyle Abbott, Pardeep Sahu, Sandeep Sharma

Rising Pune Supergiants: Faf du Plessis, Ajinkya Rahane, Kevin Pietersen, Steven Smith, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Thisara Perera, Irfan Pathan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Ankit Sharma, Murugan Ashwin

15:36 hrs IST: Kings XI are looking to break their losing streak. They have so far lost both their matches. On the other hand, RPS have won and lost one each.

15:35 hrs IST: This is the 10th match of the ninth edition of IPL!

15:34 hrs IST: Here we see the home team warming up ahead of the important clash.

Australian all-rounder Shane Watson is mighty impressed with young Indian batsman Sarfaraz Khan, who he says is an incredible batsman with amazing control over his shots.

Sarfaraz smashed 35 runs off just 10 balls, hitting five fours and two sixes, to propel Royal Challengers Bangalore to a 200-plus total against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday.

"He is an incredible young man and there is no doubt that he has worked extremely hard to get all kinds of shots right. The control over shots he has... Never seen before for a young talent like him. It shows he has practised hell of a lot, and we saw him this [against SRH]," he told reporters at the post-match press conference.

Watson also said it is a pleasure to watch AB de Villiers bat. The South African batsman hammered Hyderabad bowlers around the park with a whirlwind knock of 82, that was laced with seven fours and six shots over the ropes.

"What I saw tonight is as good as batting I have ever seen. He didn't look like taking risk at all in his entire innings. One shot he played off the backfoot for a six is an incredible shot to play, and he does it with so much of ease is really a pleasure to watch. He executes his shots incredibly well," he said.

Replying to a query, Watson said there is no need for changing batting order of Chris Gale, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, as it gives a momentum to the team.

"This I saw happening in the previous season when I was playing as a rival for Rajasthan Royals. So, why should one change the order when the top three are delivering. You need to take early wickets, otherwise you are in deep trouble, and that's what exactly happened tonight," he said.

Watson did not read much into Chris Gayle's failure at the top.

"It is not going to be everyone's day. Chris got out early, but we had depth in batting with likes of Kedar Jadhav, Sarfaraz, AB and Kohli in our side," he said.

Watson also said that the way Kohli and De Villiers batted together in their magnificent 157-run partnership he felt he wouldn't get to bat.

Watson eventually turned out to bat and contributed in his team's cause with a 19-run cameo that had three sixes.

"More than anything else playing before your home crowd is a very nice feeling. We did not get to play that many matches in Jaipur - my previous home ground," he said.

Asked about his improving relations with Gayle, Watson said it is amazing that a couple of commercials provided an opportunity for both to know each other better.

"Relations with Gayle has been very good so far. We had couple of commercials as well which gave us a chance to know each other better after few run-ins in the past. Don't know how it works when I am playing alongside him in one team. This is the beauty of cricket," he said.

Watson said he was happy to claim David Warner's wicket because he has the potential to turn the match on its head with his power hitting.