Reigning champions Sunrisers Hyderabad notched another impressive win as they beat Delhi Daredevils by 15 runs on Wednesday at home, successfully defending a target of 191. Kane Williamson was adjudged Player of the Match for his dominant innings of 89 that helped the hosts set up the imposing score. A target of 192 was always going to be a big ask, and Delhi failed to accelerate the chase despite a fighting fifty from Shreyas Iyer. Here’s how the big moments of the game played out.
Warner goes early
Those anticipating a thrilling contest of bat and ball between the two captains were left disappointed as David Warner was dismissed right in the second over for an uncharacteristic 4 off seven balls – his first single digit score in 19 T20s, which shows just how crucial the wicket was. Zaheer Khan didn’t start with the new ball, and Chris Morris took full advantage of the chance, bowling a screamer at 145 kmph to get rid of the Orange Cap holder. Warner couldn’t control his execution off the good length delivery that swung late and it went straight to Amit Mishra. Warner’s dismissal took the sails off the Sunrisers scoring rate, in the Powerplay as they managed only 39 runs in the first six overs.
But Williamson-Dhawan make up for it
However, Sunrisers recovered from the early stutter spectacularly as Kane Williamson and Dhawan put together a partnership of 136 at a run rate of almost 10 an over, which changed the game.
Williamson came in at No 3 for his first game of this Indian Premier League season, and more than made up for Warner’s early dismissal with a blistering 89 off 51. His 50 came off 33 balls, as Sunrisers got to 100 in only the 13th over.
Williamson played one of the best innings of this IPL so far, an exhibition of clean, crisp batting. The Kiwi looked comfortable against both seam and spin and took on the role of an aggressor from Dhawan. T20 might not me the format best associated to him and he was coming into the IPL after a Test century against South Africa, but as he hit two clever sixes off Angelo Mathews in the last over of the Powerplay, it was clear that Williamson had something special planned. The New Zealand captain played an array of interesting, well-angled shots and raced ahead of Dhawan despite coming in later.
On his part, Dhawan played good foil to the Kiwi, with their 100-run partnership coming in only 70 balls. Together, they paced innings well, with sharp running between the wickets that kept the scoreboard ticking. This was a timely innings from the struggling Indian left-hander as he got his first fifty in nine IPL innings in only 40 balls.
Morris the man for Delhi
Amidst the Sunrisers run fest, Chris Morris stood tall for Delhi. He finished with 4 for 26 when the opposition scored 191, and was the sole reason Sunrisers couldn’t score in excess of 200, Delhi’s wonky fielding notwithstanding.
After he got the big wicket of Warner right at the start, Morris was brought back into the attack in the 16th over and got the breakthrough for Delhi dismissing danger man Williamson. The Kiwi looked certain for a century but Morris got him to top edge a full delivery and Shreyas Iyer ran in full throttle to complete a wonderful catch. Morris followed with the dismissal of Dhawan in his next over, who he holed out an easy catch and walked back on 70 off 50. But it was his next delivery that was a stunner, a sharp yorker at 146 kmph that had Yuvraj Singh (3 off 4) stumps uprooted. However, he could not get a hat-trick and Deepk Hooda and Moises Henriques’ last over heroics got them to a commanding 191.
Siraj’s maiden outing
Mohammed Siraj, the bowler who came into the limelight after fetching 13 times his base price at the IPL auction, played his first match for Sunsrisers and shared the new ball with Purple Cap holder Bhuvneshwar Kumar. By the end, Siraj had two more wickets than his new ball partner who went wicketless. However, it wasn’t a great start. Delhi opener Sam Billings (13 off 9), who has had a reasonably good IPL so far, hit him for three straight overs, but Siraj kept his nerve and bowled one that went straight to the fielder at mid-wicket. The youngster finished with figures of 2 for 39, the best for his side.
Samson-Nair’s rampage
Billings’ wicket did not however stop the Delhi juggernaut as Sanju Samson and No 3 Karun Nair stitched together a solid partnership of 71 runs in about seven overs. The duo hit one of the best bowling units this IPL for 56 runs in the Powerplay. In fact, this is the highest Powerplay score against Sunrisers. With Samson and Nair on crease, the chase looked to be in good stead, they didn’t let the required rate get too high, attacked the weaker links in the sharp Sunrisers attack and kept the momentum going. Samson delighted with some powerful strike and Nair seemed to be in his element as well, after all the criticism that has come his way.
Double wicket over sounds death knell
Howevr, the Delhi chase lost all momentum right after the first timeout. Sunrisers introduced Yuvraj Singh for the first time this season, and when his first ball went for four, this seemed like the pivotal moment in the chase for Delhi. But it was Sunrisers that came to the party as Karun Nair was run out going for a nonexistent second run.
It was an unfortunate dismissal for Nair who looked strong, he walked but quick work from Yuvraj and substitute fielder Vijay Shankar meant Nair had to walk back on back on 33 off 23 – his first score over 30 since his triple century against England. Big-hitting Rishabh Pant was promoted up the order but he was off for a first ball duck, holing out a simple catch to Warner at long on. This was Pant’s first duck in the IPL. The double wicket over completely shifted the momentum and by the end of 10 overs, Delhi had been reduced to 87 for 3 after that brisk start.
Iyer-Mathews defiant stand not enough
Delhi’s chances were hit hard again after the second timeout when Siraj was brought back and got the big wicket of Samson on his first ball. The opener was out for 42 off 33 in an attempt to accelerate. Iyer then aimed for a late flourish, as he took on the bowlers, with leg-spinner Rashid Khan going for 16 runs his last over Angelo Mathews, who was sent ahead of Morris, and Iyer put up a stand of 70 runs with a run rate of over 10 but it wasn’t enough in the end.
The duo got Delhi close to the target, with an improbable but not impossible 24 runs needed off the last over. Siddharth Kaul got the 20th over again, and was hit for a six on the second ball, reducing the margin 17 off four. But Kaul kept his nerve and bowled a tight line after that and even got the wicket of Mathews (31 off 23). In the end, Delhi fell short by 15 and will have a lot of introspection to do after their second consecutive loss.