Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) inept middle-order performance thwarted their excellent bowling effort as they lost yet another Indian Premier League (IPL) match, this time to Delhi Capitals (DC) via Super Over. Despite a fast 81-run stand between openers Prithvi Shaw (53) and Shikhar Dhawan, SRH spinners Rashid Khan and Jagadeesha Suchith limited the DC to 159 for four (28). SRH’s over-reliance on their top-order batsmen, on the other hand, meant that when skipper David Warner (6) and Jonny Bairstow (38) were dismissed, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was left to admonish the sinking ship.
DC is in second position with eight points from five games, while SRH is in seventh place with one draw. Williamson (66 not out) couldn’t do the job without help from the other end in a DC lineup stacked with proven performers.
His battle knock was insufficient to get the team home. However, timely hits from Suchith (15 off 6) helped SRH tie the game and force a Super Over.
SRH only managed one boundary, leaving DC with a straightforward nine-run mark to chase down, amid Rashid Khan’s brilliance.
Following Warner’s dismissal, it was other opener Bairstow who kept the run rate under pressure with his power hitting, while Williamson was his normal assured self.
Bairstow was dismissed in the seventh over after hitting a massive six off pacer Avesh Khan. Virat Singh was also finding his footing against the superior DC’s spin trio of R Ashwin, Axar Patel, and Amit Mishra, so the onus was on the Kiwi batsman to chase fast runs.
Khan ultimately dismissed Virat (4 off 14) for consuming so many bats. It drew Kedar Jadhav (9) into the crease, but he didn’t last long.
Mishra had stumped him. SRH’s hopes of qualifying for the play-offs were evaporating with each passing game as the middle-order faltered once more. With Williamson keeping the innings together, SRH required 50 runs from the final five overs.
After opting to bat, DC’s skipper Rishabh Pant (37) and Steve Smith (34 not out) put together a 58-run fourth-wicket stand to ensure a competitive tally. Shaw got things off with a hat-trick of fours off Khaleel Ahmed.
Those were stunning strokes right out of a textbook. Shaw’s cover drives, both on the ground and across the track, were pure beauty, as he backed up his timing with accuracy and strength.
His six over long on off pacer Siddarth Kaul and the ramp shot over short third-man off the same bowler attested to his mastery of the game. As the DC put on board 51 without losing in Powerplay overs, Dhawan was content to play second fiddle.
In his first game for SRH, left-arm spinner Suchith did well, conceding just 21 runs in his four-over quota. He was always bothering Dhawan. Suchith bowled in tandem with Khan, who has been SRH’s best spinner in recent years, as the two bowlers slowed the run rate.
Rashid also gave his team their first breakthrough when he spotted Dhawan’s stumps, breaking DC’s 81-run opening stand. After a mix-up with skipper Pant, Shaw’s brilliant knock ended in a run out.
Pant and Steve Smith, the former Australia captain, were the two new batsmen at the crease. They were able to get the scoreboard going. Kaul dropped Smith on 14 off Vijay Shankar.
Khaleel had even passed up an opportunity to play Rashid off Pant a few balls earlier. The pair hit a few boundaries, but the SRH bowlers largely kept the game under balance.