IPL 2021: SRH vs DC - Who won yesterday’s match?
Delhi Capitals (DC) got the better of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in a pulsating IPL 2021 game on Sunday in Chennai that was decided in a Super Over.
After both teams ended on 159, DC left-arm spinner Axar Patel conceded only seven runs in the Super Over, as Kane Williamson and David Warner failed to find the big hits against his well-darted deliveries. It could have been eight for SRH, but Warner ran one short.
In their chase, DC captain Rishabh Pant pulled out a reverse sweep for four against Rashid Khan off the third ball. But it came down to one off the last ball, and Shikhar Dhawan and Pant cantered for a leg bye to take DC home.
Earlier, chasing 160, Kane Williamson scored a high-quality 66 not out off 51 balls. He was aided by timely boundaries from Jagadeesha Suchith (14 not out off six balls) as SRH tied the match and took it to a Super Over.
Even as wickets kept falling at the other end, Williamson raised his half-century off 42 balls to keep SRH's hopes alive. They went into the last four overs, needing 43 with six wickets in hand.
Williamson kept losing partners at the other end, though. Axar Patel trapped Abhishek Sharma (5) and Rashid Khan (0) lbw off consecutive deliveries. Sharma missed one that came back into him, while Rashid Khan went for an ill-advised reverse sweep off the first ball he faced.
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Vijay Shankar (8) dragged a slower ball from Khan onto his stumps as the equation became 24 off 9. Jagadeesha Suchith, though, came out swinging, getting two fours in three balls to bring the equation down to 16 off the last over.
After Kagiso Rabada began with a wide, Williamson calmly brought out a scoop shot to find a boundary behind the wickets. With ten needed off four, Suchith clobbered a short ball over midwicket for six. Requiring two to win off the last ball. Suchith and Williamson sneaked in a leg bye to take the game to a Super Over.
There was drama early in SRH’s chase of 160. In the second over bowled by Ravichandran Ashwin, Jonny Bairstow got a caught behind decision overturned and was then dropped by Shimron Hetmyer at the midwicket boundary.
Bairstow celebrated his life by hammering Marcus Stoinis for a four over midwicket and a six over mid-on. SRH seemed to be getting some momentum in their innings as Bairstow launched Ashwin down the ground for a six.
However, not for the first time, SRH captain David Warner (6) was run out while attempting a tight single. Bairstow hit one to the left of cover-point, and both batsmen attempted to cross over to the other end. But Kagiso Rabada’s quick throw to Rishabh Pant caught Warner short of his crease.
Despite the setback of losing his partner, Bairstow crunched a four and a six in Axar Patel’s first over of the tournament. The left-arm spinner, who was returning after recovering from COVID-19, was carved over point and then smashed over wide long-on for a maximum.
Bairstow hit his fourth six of the innings when an overpitched delivery from DC pacer Avesh Khan was walloped over wide long-on. The very next ball, though, the SRH opener was back in the hut after a breezy 38 off 18. Looking for another six off a length ball, he only managed to find mid-on.
Kane Williamson carried on the fight for SRH, finding consecutive boundaries in the ninth over of the innings bowled by Amit Mishra. Williamson first swept the leg-spinner to the right of deep midwicket before reverse-lapping one over the slip fielder.
Rashid Khan continued to keep DC in the hunt, ending Virat Singh (4 from 14)'s misery. The struggling SRH batsman miscued a pull straight to midwicket.
Mishra then outfoxed Kedar Jadhav (9) by dragging the length back on seeing the batsman come down the track. Jadhav was beaten and easily stumped by Rishabh Pant. At that point, DC seemed to be in the ascendancy, but Williamson and Suchith kept SRH afloat.
DC post competitive 159 for 4, batting first
Delhi Capitals (DC) posted a competitive 159 for 4 on the board after winning the toss and batting first against Sunrisers Hyderabad on a challenging surface in Chennai.
Prithvi Shaw top-scored with 53, while captain Rishabh Pant (37) and Steven Smith (34 not out) also chipped in as DC gave their bowlers a decent total to bowl at.
Shaw kicked off the DC innings in impressive fashion, scoring a hat-trick of fours as Khaleel Ahmed was either too short or too full. In the next over bowled by Abhishek Sharma, Shaw found two more boundaries, one over square leg and the other to the right of mid-off.
At the other end, Shikhar Dhawan got an early reprieve, as Kedar Jadhav dropped him at short midwicket. A few deliveries later, Shaw hoicked Siddarth Kaul over extra-cover for a six.
Shaw kept finding the boundaries and eased his way to a fifty off 35 balls. The opening partnership was broken, though, when Rashid Khan foxed Dhawan with a slider and bowled him for 28.
Prithvi Shaw was run out soon after following a mix-up with DC captain Pant. After Bairstow missed a stumping of Pant, Shaw set off for a run, but Pant retracted after a couple of steps. The fielder from short fine leg got in an accurate throw, and Shaw was caught well out of his crease at the non-striker’s end.
Pant dug in and found a few crucial boundaries, including a six off Kaul clubbed to wide long-on. Kaul had his revenge in the penultimate over, though, when Pant holed out to the bowler, dragging a slower one to deep midwicket. Shimron Hetymer (1) also perished in the same over, slicing one straight up in the air.
In the last over bowled by Khaleel Ahmed, Smith carved a four over short third man and a six over deep square leg as DC ended their innings with some momentum.
IPL 2021: SRH vs DC - Man of the Match
DC opener Prithvi Shaw carried on his good form. He eased his way to a fluent half-century, hitting seven fours and a six, before getting run out following a mix-up with Rishabh Pant.
The DC captain himself contributed 37 off 27 on a challenging surface, while Steve Smith provided a late flourish with an unbeaten 34 off 25.
When DC bowled, Avesh Khan impressed again, taking three wickets, dismissing Jonny Bairstow, Virat Singh and Vijay Shankar. Playing his first game of the season, Axar Patel picked up two wickets off consecutive deliveries to finish with figures of 2 for 26 and also bowled a brilliant Super Over.
Pacer Siddarth Kaul was good for SRH, dismissing Pant and Hetmyer. Kane Williamson showed his class once again with a masterful half-century, while Jonny Bairstow got his team off to a flying start.
But for his blazing fifty up front, it was DC opener Prithvi Shaw who was awarded the Man of the Match on the night.