IPL 2020: Twitter erupts as DC reach first-ever final with morale-boosting win over SRH
Marcus Stoinis’ all-round performance helped the Delhi Capitals progress to their first-ever IPL final as they beat the Sunrisers Hyderabad by 17 runs in the IPL 2020 Qualifier 2 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
DC will meet defending champions Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2020 final in Dubai on Tuesday (November 10).
After Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat first, the decision to open with Marcus Stoinis was vindicated almost immediately. The Aussie and Shikhar Dhawan made their intention clear from the word go and gave DC the exact start they were hoping for.
Though Stoinis was dropped on 3 by Jason Holder at silly mid-on, the duo made the most of the field restrictions thereafter to power the Capitals to 65 for no loss at the end of 6 overs. SRH failed to stem the flow of runs even after the field was spread out, before Rashid Khan castled Stoinis (38 off 27) and broke the 86-run stand in the 8th over.
Dhawan looked flawless in the middle, but Shreyas Iyer failed to time the ball as the SRH bowlers pulled the strings in the middle overs. The second-wicket partnership lasted 34 balls, but it was only worth 40 runs as Holder (1 for 50) accounted for the DC skipper for a 20-ball 21 with the score on 126 after the 14th over.
However, Shimron Hetmyer – who had sat out in the previous 2 games – found his mojo almost immediately as he hit a boundary off Shahbaz Nadeem (0 for 48) to open his account.
Dhawan crossed 600 runs for the first time in an IPL season before perishing to Sandeep Sharma (1 for 30) for an excellent 78 off 50 balls, even though replays showed the ball struck him outside the line.
Hetmyer, though, continued in his merry way to finish on an unbeaten 22-ball 42. DC racked up 44 runs off the final 4 overs to post an imposing total of 189 for 3 at the end of 20 overs.
In reply, SRH also shuffled their opening combination by sending out Priyam Garg to open with David Warner. The 19-year-old got SRH off to a solid start by hitting Ravichandran Ashwin for a six, but Kagiso Rabada got DC back into the contest by dismissing Warner (2 off 3) in the 2nd over.
Manish Pandey and Priyam Garg put together 31 runs off just 21 balls before Marcus Stoinis went through the defence of Garg after a 12-ball 17. It went from bad to worse for SRH as Stoinis accounted for Pandey (21 off 14) a ball later to leave the Hyderabad-based franchise in dire straits on 44 for 3 after 5 overs.
Kane Williamson and Jason Holder then continued from where they left off against RCB in the IPL 2020 Eliminator, breathing life into the run-chase with a 46-run fourth-wicket stand. Even though Axar Patel (1 for 33) sent back Holder in the 12th over, Williamson marched on and brought up his 3rd IPL 2020 fifty off just 35 balls to keep SRH in the hunt for their 3rd IPL final in 5 years.
Abdul Samad played the perfect second fiddle to Williamson as the pair brought down the equation to 43 runs required off 20 deliveries. However, Stoinis’ dream performance continued as he got rid of Williamson (67 off 45) to break the 57-run stand.
Samad (33 off 16) and Rashid Khan (11 off 7) kept SRH in the game by hitting some lusty blows, but Kagiso Rabada (4 for 29) scalped 3 wickets in the 19th over to seal the deal. DC made it through to the IPL 2020 final as SRH were restricted to 172 for 8.
Twitter reacts to IPL 2020 Qualifier 2, DC vs SRH