Delhi Capitals beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 17 runs.
Delhi Capitals star players performed when it matters the most once again as the side defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 17 runs in the IPL 2020 Qualifier 2 played in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
The scoreboard might suggest that the victory, which also took the side into their maiden IPL final, was down to some brisk hitting by Shikhar Dhawan (78 off 50) followed by Kagiso Rabada’s four-wicket haul to halt SRH at 175/8 while chasing 190. However, the real star of the show was Marcus Stoinis, who first scored 27-ball 38 in the powerplay to nullify Rashid Khan’s impact in the middle over and then backed it up with three big wickets of David Warner, Manish Pandey and Kane Williamson to break SRH backbone in the chase.
Defending the big total, Kagiso Rabada gave SRH the big blow in in-form skipper David Warner, whom he castled with a yorker at just 2. Promoted to opening, Priyam Garg (17 off 12), along with Manish Pandey (21 off 14) tried to bring the chase on the track with a quick 30-run stand off 21 balls.
However, Marcus Stoinis had other plans as he removed the duo in space of three deliveries in the fifth over to leave SRH stuttering at 44/3.
Unwilling to go without a fight, SRH fought their way back with Kane Willliamson playing lone hand in a 56-run partnership for fourth wicket with Jason Holder. However, Holder’s (11 off 15) poor shotmaking in the 12th over off Axar Patel, put the chasing side in a spot of bother with no more recognised batsman to help Williamson.
Needing 100 runs off 50 balls, an unlikely Abdul Samad provided the much-needed impetus with 12-ball 25, helping Williamson, who reached his half-century in 35 balls, to go about his business in a relaxed manner in a crucial fifth-wicket 57-run stand to turn the game on its head.
But Stoinis took on the job of game-changer again to take the big wicket of Williamson (67 off 45) in the 17th over to dent SRH hopes.
Earlier in the first innings, Delhi came up with a novel way of countering SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) spin wizard Rashid Khan.
The Ricky Ponting-coached team promoted hard-hitting all-rounder Marcus Stoinis up the order to go after the bowling in the powerplay along with left-handed batsman Shikhar Dhawan. It helped them avoid taking unnecessary risks against Rashid in the middle overs when the pressure to keep the scoreboard ticking builds.
Both Stoinis and Dhawan managed to put up 65 without loss in the first six overs. Even though Rashid eventually removed Stoinis, the DC batsmen managed to play out Rashid, while milking the bowlers at the other end.
Rashid finished with one for 26 in his fours overs, a far cry from the previous two games between the two sides where the Afghanistan leg-spinner led them to victory by picking three wickets in each of the two games and conceded a total of 21 runs.
The strategy also forced Warner to save one of Rashid's over for the last quarter of the innings unlike in the last match where he bowled all of Rashid's four overs in the middle overs against a struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore.
