The final game of the Chennai leg in this year’s edition of the IPL saw Delhi Capitals come out triumphant in a Super Over thriller against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 25.
DC made a score of 159/4 in their allotted 20 overs before SRH matched it with 159/7 in the second half to send the game into the Super Over. In the Super Over, on a turning track, DC chose left-arm spinner Axar Patel to deliver the goods, while SRH handed the responsibility to skipper David Warner and Kane Williamson.
Despite Warner taking the strike initially to the left-arm spinner, Axar emerged as a great saviour for his team and conceded just 8 runs in his over, including a solitary boundary. Just when SRH would’ve felt they have 9 runs to defend, they received a blow as the third umpire caught the two SRH batsmen for a short run off the final delivery. SRH, therefore, had to settle with just 7 runs instead of 8.
To achieve the target of 8 off 6 balls, DC batters Rishabh Pant and Shikhar Dhawan had to counter the mighty Rashid Khan. The duo eventually managed it with a couple of singles from the first two deliveries following a boundary via a reverse sweep from Pant. Pant and Dhawan ran across for two more singles off the last two balls of the Super Over through leg-byes and completed the victory for their team.
Earlier in the day, DC won the toss and opted to bat first, having recognised the nature of the surface in Chennai quite well. The team got off to a superb start with an opening stand of 82 runs between Prithvi Shaw and Dhawan. Shaw, especially, was in brilliant form and scored a terrific half-century (53 off 39 balls). Dhawan also batted watchfully for his 28 off 26. But their departure in quick succession brought SRH back into the game.
Steve Smith then joined skipper Pant at the crease, and the duo also stitched a stand of 58 runs for the third wicket. However, as the surface slowed down to a degree, they didn’t find it as easy to hit the ball off the square. Pant made a 27-ball 37, while Smith finished with an unbeaten 34 off 25 deliveries. DC were once again guilty of not utilising their power-hitters Shimron Hetmyer and Marcus Stoinis properly and had to settle with a score they should’ve surpassed given the start they had.
For SRH, pacer Siddharth Kaul (2/31) and Rashid (1/31) were among the wickets, while debutant Jagadeesha Suchith (0/21) and Vijay Shankar (0/19) delivered economical spells.
In the second half, the early dismissal of Warner (6) and the premature end to another stellar knock of 38 off 16 from Jonny Bairstow put the onus on Williamson to control the chase from an end for SRH, whose middle-order remains a major problem area.
Williamson batted with a great sense of calmness people have come to associate with him and produced a skilful and calculative half-century (66 not out off 51 balls) to help take SRH close. There was hardly any support for Williamson at the other end, but an impressive cameo of 14* off 6 balls from Suchith at No.9 played an extremely crucial role in ensuring that SRH levelled DC’s score.
Axar (2/26) and Avesh Khan (3/34) were the stand-out performers for DC with the ball. Ravichandran Ashwin (0/27) and Amit Mishra (1/31) also kept a tight leash on run-scoring, which forced some of the SRH batters to take risks at the other end.
The result of the Super Over allowed DC to stay in the upper half of the points table and kept SRH down in the lower half, with the former having clinched 4 wins out of 5 matches and the latter suffering 4 defeats from just as many games.
Brief scores
Delhi Capitals 159/4 in 20 overs (Prithvi Shaw 53, Rishabh Pant 37; Siddharth Kaul 2/31) tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad 159/7 in 20 overs (Kane Williamson 66*, Jonny Bairstow 38; Avesh Khan 3/34). DC won in the Super Over.
