DC managed to score another victory in what has been a very hot-and-cold season for the Rishabh Pant-led side. The Capitals emerged victorious against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, making the battle for the playoff spots in this edition of the Indian Premier League all the more interesting.
David Warner scored a magnificent 92* against his former side, while Rovman Powell carried on his great form in his maiden IPL season to help the Capitals reach a whopping total of 207/3 in their 20 overs.
Unfortunately for SRH, Kane Williamson’s poor form continued. A top-order failure made sure that the side could not make it anywhere near the target, eventually losing by 21 runs, a loss which will bear a sizeable impact on their net run-rate.
Prithvi Shaw missed out on Thursday’s game and was replaced by veteran Mandeep Singh, but to not much avail, as he walked back to the pavilion for a five-ball duck. Mitchell Marsh, who was the next to walk in, showed signs of good form, but his innings was cut short before it could take off.
Warner was playing some sensible cricket while Pant joined him in the middle. It was yet another case of getting a start and not being able to make the most of it for the Delhi skipper. He began extremely well, scoring three maximums, before getting cleaned up by the wily Shreyas Gopal.
Despite losing a few wickets, the platform for Delhi was set, and with Warner still batting, a big score was always on the cards. A handy supporting innings from Powell was going to be what it took for the Capitals to rack up a huge total. However, the Jamaican provided much more than just a handy knock.
Warner and Powell gave the Hyderabad bowlers thorough hiding, smashing the likes of Umran Malik with ridiculous ease. The Australian was selfless enough to forfeit a personal milestone for the good of the team, as Powell’s 35-ball 67* powered DC to 207/3. Warner carried out his responsibilities to the fullest, anchoring the innings before going berserk in the end, as he too finished unbeaten on 92.
A chase of this magnitude was always going to take a special effort, and a good start would have gone a long way in helping the Sunrisers approach the chase. However, they were able to do neither of those things. Both Abhishek Sharma and Williamson were sent packing early on.
Rahul Tripathi was also not able to make much of an impact this time around. Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran, however, tried their best to get their side back on track. The former raced to 42 off 24 balls as the chase looked to come to a fever pitch yet wasn’t able to carry on before the innings completely fell apart for the former champions.
Pooran also tried to rescue Hyderabad, but nothing short of a miracle was going to save the Orange Army, and despite Pooran’s best efforts, SRH could only manage a detrimental loss by 21 runs, as the playoff battle took yet another interesting turn, with three sides now on 10 points.
Brief scores
Delhi Capitals 207 for 3 (Warner 92*, Powell 67*) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 186 for 8 (Pooran 62, Khaleel 3-30) by 21 runs
