Delhi Capitals hit their third stumbling block on the trot as Sunrisers Hyderabad bulldozed them into a soul-crushing 88-run defeat in the 47th match of the Indian Premier League. Wriddhiman Saha was a revelation for his 45-ball 87 which set the stage on fire alongside David Warner's explosive fifty as SRH posted a mammoth 219/2, the highest total in the ongoing edition. Rashid Khan then cast a spin web, rooking out otherworldly figures of 4-0-7-3 comprising 17 dots to lend the orange army an NRR fillip. If a side boasting of demolishers from top to bottom is apprehensive of targeting you, that too with a mountain to climb ahead, you can give yourself a pat on the back.
Delhi raise the white flags in steep chase
DC endured the worst imaginable start with ace opener Shikhar Dhawan, fresh off a couple of hundreds, flicking versus swing to balloon a top-edge towards mid-off. Number three Marcus Stoinis, upgraded with the license to go for the kill, flattered to deceive. The brawny all-rounder tucked Sandeep Sharma with an elegant whip of the wrists before yanking Shahbaz Nadeem straight to mid-off. A hint of trepidation gripped the air as Rashid Khan was launched into the attack. For good reason too, with the wizard in the guise of a leggie castling Shimron Hetmyer before trapping Rahane plumb with a zippy wrong 'un.
Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel didn't hang around for long either, departing to miscued shovels in the pursuit to keep abreast with the spiralling asking rate. Thangarasu Natarajan's shooter cleaned up Kagiso Rabada while Rishabh Pant fell prey to an absolutely brilliant review from David Warner, the snickometer tracking a mild disturbance as his bat reached for the tramline yorker. Tushar Deshpande grabbed eyeballs with some lusty blows but the ship had already sunk into oblivion.
SRH's Bairstow snub evokes a mixed bag of emotions
Kane Williamson graced the team sheet at the expense of Jonny Bairstow, leaving the fan base perplexed as to whether rejoice or despise the exchange of personnel. Keeper Wriddhiman Saha was pigeonholed to the vacant slot at the helm while left-arm Shahbaz Nadeem too made the cut as Priyam Garg and Khaleel Ahmed picked the water bottles.
Warner-Saha paint the town red
David Warner was the life and soul of his birthday party, calling the shots from the front as SRH romped to their second-best PowerPlay score in IPL history, an unscathed 77. New-ball merchants across the board were subjected to a leather hunt, with both Warner and Saha enjoying a slice of the pie en route the ballistic 107-run partnership. The southpaw, in a crude nutshell, flashed his blade at anything and everything, and the cherry more often than not rung of the sweet spot of his rapier-like willow. The fifty-milestone was collected no sweat in just 25 balls, but offie Ravichandran Ashwin stuck to his guns of flight and deception as Warner skewed a loft to a back-pedalling extra cover.
Talk about grabbing your opportunity
Despite losing his partner, Saha wreaked havoc in a league of his own. He carted Axar Patel through mid-wicket before lacing his dancing shoes to badger Ashwin down the ground. Tushar Deshpande bore the brunt of a chiselled short-arm jab as Saha raised his bat to a 27-ball half-century. To fill in the boots of Bairstow after a gut-wrenching loss to KXIP and to pulverize speed demons of the ilk of Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada is no mean feat. He did mistime a hard length ball to miss out on a well-deserved ton, but a standing ovation from SRH's camp elucidated the value of his blitzkrieg.
Delhi spared a few blushes
The scoreboard beamed a double hundred with the 18th over in progression, and you can say, albeit with tongue firmly in cheek, that SRH left a dozen or more runs on the platter at the death. This in spite of Manish Pandey's unbeaten 44, stockpiled by milking a buffet of full-tosses. That a relatively sedate 44 runs came off the last five overs drives the point home. Rabada proved he's human after all, bleeding 54 in four, remaining wicketless after a jubilant stretch of 26 T20s.
Where do they travel next?
Delhi Capitals, who are now feeling the heat regardless of having 14 points in the kitty, have two dog-eat-dog encounters up their sleeve. Mumbai Indians await on Saturday afternoon in Dubai before Royal Challengers Bangalore knock their door in Abu Dhabi on Monday. Sunrisers Hyderabad plough the same furrow with both oppositions trialling them in a different order. Sharjah plays host, with RCB and MI eyeing to seal playoff berths, on Saturday and Tuesday respectively.
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