The successful defense of 144 by the Delhi Capitals bowlers, led by their spin-duo of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, won them a much-needed victory and brought them even on points with their opponents SRH, who made short work of the chase.
A tedious beginning to the chase
Harry Brook initially struggled to get the boundaries as Sunrisers Hyderabad got off to a pretty careful start. Although Mayank Agarwal was the faster player in comparison, SRH only managed 36 in the Powerplay, and Brook fell after failing to scoop Nortje. Rahul Tripathi and Mayank were stifled by the spinners as the trend persisted. Although the run rate continued to rise, SRH could only put together a partnership that was worth 38 in as many balls. This ultimately turned out to be the game’s turning point.
Spinning choke
The two bowlers who changed the outcome of the match were Axar Patel (2/21 in 4) and Kuldeep Yadav (1/22 in 4), particularly in the middle overs, which gave the pacers more resources to work with later in the innings. As SRH progressed from 69/1 to 85/5, a spectacular collapse was caused by Axar’s important wickets of Mayank (holing out to long on 49) and Aiden Markram (chopping on). Kuldeep and Ishant Sharma struck in between.
Mukesh concludes
When SRH needed 56 runs off the final five overs, Heinrich Klassen and Washington Sundar hit crucial boundaries late in the innings to pose a challenge. However, Washington was left with a target of 13 in the penultimate over after Klassen holed out to the deep. However, Mukesh Kumar was able to close out a slight redemption for him after giving up 15 in his previous over by nailing his yorkers and angles to perfection.
The ‘homecoming’ of David Warner: how it went?
Despite the noisy, loud applause, his bowlers ultimately made it pretty pleasant.
With the bat, nothing went right. He chose to bat, and after seeing his replacement (Phil Salt, who had been dropped for Prithvi Shaw), leave for a duck in the first over, he watched as the other hitters labored through the innings.
Why was it challenging?
Since SRH made it challenging for them all the way through. DC also supported that cause. Mitchell Marsh was caught LBW on review by T Natarajan just as he started to tee off after receiving a 19-run over from Marco Jansen. The DC train was then stopped as a result.
DC is derailed by Washington
Had Washington Sundar’s eighth over of the innings, which was hara-kiri, not been bowled, DC might have been able to reach a higher score. Warner attempted a long slog sweep first and holed out to fine leg; a ball later, Sarfaraz replicated the dismissal. Aman Khan, a novice batter, continued to loft without looking at successive deliveries before being caught off the second one. DC had a dejected expression at 62/5.
A heroic deed
At that point, the innings could have spiraled out of control, but their expertise helped them recover. A 69-run stand by Manish Pandey and Axar Patel lifted DC out of the mire and helped them get closer to a respectable total. Before DC stumbled once more, the pair effectively connected the runs without taking any unnecessary chances.
Yet another failure
Inflicting up to three run outs, including Manish Pandey’s, SRH was clinical on the pitch. Between these two instances, Bhuvneshwar Kumar showed brilliance by taking Axar’s wicket and finishing with 2/11 in his four overs. Due to the absence of both set batters for the final out, DC limped to a middling total of 144.
Next, what?
The same again. On April 29, Delhi will host the rematch between the two teams.
