SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) failed to book a berth in the final of IPL 2020 as they suffered a 17-run defeat against Delhi Capitals (DC) in the second Qualifier on Sunday. After electing to bat first, the Delhi batting unit, bolstered by the fresh opening duo of Marcus Stoinis and Shikhar Dhawan, started off well.
Stoinis and Dhawan stitched 86-run opening stand and guided their side to a robust start. After Stoinis' departure, Dhawan went on to score 78 off 50 deliveries before getting out to a misjudged LBW call. Shimron Hetmyer provided DC with some late fireworks by smashing 42 off 22 balls as the side managed to post a daunting 189 on the scoreboard.
In response, SRH suffered an early setback in the form of skipper David Warner. Wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals as Kagiso Rabada took four while Stoinis scalped three. Kane Williamson played a vital 67-run knock and kept his side in the game. However, he failed to steer SRH past the finishing line as they managed to post just 172 runs on the board.
Following SRH's departure from the tournament, Williamson said that the guys can be proud of their effort, considering the on-going IPL season turned out to be a nail-biting contest. SRH had progressed into the Qualifier by thumping Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by six wickets in the Eliminator.
"Delhi is a very good side. They have been trying to find the rhythm to their play like we were and we managed to for a little period of time. Delhi was able to put it together against us and they played very well. They put a competitive score.
Going in the second innings risks needed to be taken. We did not get off to good start but we managed to get good partnerships through the middle period. We still had a bit of opportunity. It's a shame not to make the finals but the guys can be proud of their effort," said Williamson during the virtual post-match press conference.
"Season of fine lines. We had a number of close losses. Perhaps we were not playing our best, every team is very strong, everybody has beaten everybody, you need to be at the top of your game. As a team, we were looking for that rhythm to our play. It was nice to find it at the crunch time, we would have loved to go through," he added.
