SRH spinner Rashid Khan (left) with Shikhar Dhawan during the match.
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.
Star of the show was Marcus Stoinis, who first scored 27-ball 38 to put 65 runs in the powerplay to nullify Rashid Khan’s impact in the middle over. He then backed it up with three big wickets of David Warner, Manish Pandey and Kane Williamson to break SRH backbone in the chase.
DC skipper Shreyas Iyer revealed that though Soinis fell in the 9th over to Rashid, he did his job by putting 86 runs on the board for the opening stand to take the pressure off the middle order.
"Were going at 10rpo, but we know Rashid can be lethal in the middle. The plan was to not give him wickets. Were lacking with the opening partnership. Needed a rocket start. We thought if he (Stoinis) goes and plays maximum deliveries he can give us a good start," the winning captain said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
DC will now take on the mighty Mumbai Indians in the marquee clash on November 10 and the four-time champions will have a pshychological advantage in the game. The Capital outfit suffered huge losses twice in the league stages to them while their batting came a cropper on both the occasion.
And Iyer said it will be important to play freely against such a great side with some changes in the team will be a necessity.
"The emotions keep going high and low, so you can't have the same set of routines. Have to keep chopping and changing. Hoping that in the next game as well, against MI the biggest team, we're able to play freely," he said.
