Wriddhiman Saha’s 87, combined with an aggressive fifty from David Warner on his birthday and a fantastic haul of 3/7 from Rashid Khan gave Sunrisers Hyderabad a big, morale boosting win in the IPL 2020 clash against Delhi Capitals in Dubai. With this win, Sunrisers Hyderabad have moved to sixth spot in the points table as the playoff race intensified.
There are now three teams tied on 14 points and two teams on 12 and 10 points respectively. The nature of the points table is such that a team that reaches 16, which was once the criteria for sealing a playoff spot, is no longer valid. Sunrisers Hyderabad were boosted by a breathtaking 87 from Wriddhiman Saha and a brilliant 25-ball fifty by David Warner on his birthday as they notched up 219/2 against a powerful Delhi Capitals bowling line-up. Sandeep Sharma dismissed Shikhar Dhawan first ball and when Rashid Khan picked up three wickets in the middle overs to end with 3/7, Sunrisers Hyderabad registered a crushing 88-run win against Delhi Capitals to move to the sixth spot and make the race for the IPL 2020 playoffs even more intense on Tuesday.
It was a total performance from Sunrisers Hyderabad in all departments, led by the audacity of David Warner and the brilliance of Wriddhiman Saha, who was playing his first game of IPL 2020 in place of Jonny Bairstow. Shreyas Iyer chose to bowl and made no changes but Sunrisers Hyderabad got in Kane Williamson, Wriddhiman Saha and Shahbaz Nadeem. Warner totally spoilt his Delhi Capitals counterpart’s plans with a dazzling display of strokeplay.
Saha began with three boundaries in two overs bowled by Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje and Warner showcased his aggression with a slog sweep of R Ashwin. Both batsmen made good progress but in the final over of the powerplay, Warner unleashed the beast by smashing four boundaries and a six off Purple Cap holder Kagiso Rabada as Sunrisers Hyderabad reached 77/0 after the end of the powerplay.
Saha and Warner notched up a century opening stand and despite Axar Patel getting rid of Warner for 66, the base had been set for a big score.
Delhi Capitals’ bowlers were guilty of not bowling too many variations and their quick pace only fed to Sunrisers Hyderabad’s strengths. Wriddhiman Saha carried on his good work and he launched Kagiso Rabada for another six. Saha looked to get near a ton when he smoked two boundaries off Anrich Nortje but on 87, he was undone by a length ball that stopped on him and he was vert unlucky to miss out on a ton. In between, Saha was getting treatment for exhaustion and cramp and many people would be hoping that it is not serious, considering that the tour to Australia starts by the end of November.
Manish Pandey was in his elements and he found the boundary on a regular basis as Sunrisers Hyderabad ended on 219/2, the highest score by a team in Dubai in IPL 2020. For Delhi Capitals to chase it down, it needed a fast and aggressive start from their top order but it never came.
Delhi Capitals in tatters
Shikhar Dhawan, who had scored two centuries in IPL 2020, perished to the first ball that he faced to Sandeep Sharma and Delhi Capitals were already on the backfoot. Marcus Stoinis got a promotion up the order but he also failed to contribute as he fell to Shahbaz Nadeem. Ajinkya Rahane and Shimron Hetmyer tried to revive the innings, with Rahane hitting a four and a six off Jason Holder. At the end of the powerplay, Delhi Capitals had reached a respectable 54/2.
However, that was the moment Rashid Khan decided to change the entire course of the match. He struck first ball when Hetmyer missed a slog to the leg side and was bowled. The match swayed completely in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s favour as Ajinkya Rahane was trapped LBW. Rashid ensured that no boundaries would be hit and the pressure took its toll on Shreyas Iyer, who was dismissed by Vijay Shankar
Rashid picked up his third and he ended with figures of 3/7, his best in the IPL ever and in two games, the Afghanistan legspinner had figures of 8-0-20-6 against the Delhi Capitals. Rishabh Pant tried to make a statement after not being included in India’s squad for the T20I and ODI series in Australia but it was too much to do for the youngster as he fell to Sandeep Sharma. The rest of the Delhi Capitals innings petered out as Sunrisers Hyderabad overcame the heartbreak of their loss to Kings XI Punjab some nights ago to put in a comprehensive performance.
With this win, the points table is now incredibly crowded and one slip-up by any team could prove to be costly. For Delhi Capitals, their loss in momentum could not have come at a worse time.
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