IPL SRL | DC vs SRH Evaluation Chart - Bowlers to the fore as Delhi steamroll Hyderabad
Almost all Delhi bowlers had their moment under the sun, with Sunrisers Hyderabad failing to cling onto David Warner’s half-century, to consign the visitors to a 50-run loss. For Delhi, Shreyas Iyer was the main architect with his fantastic 68 that propelled the Capitals to a safe 198.
Match Review
After choosing to bat first, Delhi Capitals started in stunning fashion with Prithvi Shaw opening his arms right from the word go. Even after Shikhar Dhawan’s dismissal, he continued the good work alongside Rahane, who played his own sweet cameo of 28 runs off 14 deliveries. The perk, however, came when Shreyas Iyer came out to bat as the skipper ensured a total blitzkrieg, with his 64 runs off 40 deliveries, as Delhi moved forward step by step plunge to eventually succeed to a total of 198/6 despite the lower middle order failing to grasp the enormity of the occasion.
Once Jonny Bairstow was dismissed with a struggling 6 off 11 and then Kane Willaimson followed suit, the Sunrisers invited themselves to early trouble and it felt so in the entirety of the match. David Warner tried to defy the negative momentum with a classy half-century, but he was soon sent back to the hut by Sandeep Lamichhane, who had a day out of sorts in the middle. Virat Singh thrilled to the core with a cameo of his own but that was too little too late for a side that was chasing a magnanimous 199. SRH eventually gave up in front of a fiery death bowling show by Delhi Capitals, in which Hyderabad lost five wickets within a space of 11 balls as the Shreyas Iyer-led side secured a 50-run win.
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Turning Point
This one is really easy to pick for the sheer impact it had on the game. Even though Bairstow and Williamson were dismissed cheaply, everyone knew that until David Warner holds one end up, anything is possible. But as soon as Sandeep Lamichhane dismissed the Aussie to follow with the dismissal of Vijay Shankar, the game was virtually decided. There was no joy to be had after that as Delhi scampered their way to an easy victory.
Highs and Lows
When Virat Singh burst onto the scene as a springy 16-year-old playing for East Zone in Deodhar Trophy, he had an uncanny ability to score with effortless ease. If anything, today’s Simulated game was a fine reminder of the fact and why Virat Singh is so highly rated. With the game almost gone out of hands, the Jharkhand batsman smashed Ravichandran Ashwin and Sandeep Lamichhane for 35 off 20 balls, before being dismissed by the star offie. But that few minutes made everyone stay on the edge of their seats.
The high ended and the low began almost at the same time. With Virat Singh’s dismissal on the penultimate ball of the 17th over, Delhi cracked the Hyderabad lower-order and dismissed the next four wickets in rather cheaply. Hyderabad lower middle order, to be fair, should have shown a bit of promise instead of throwing the towel the way they did.
Rating Charts
Powerplay exploitation: Delhi 8/10 Hyderabad 3/10
It is not always Ajinkya Rahane turns his beast mode but believe me, when he does, it is a beauty to savour. Full of orthodoxy, Rahane’s short yet effective stay in the middle resulted in 28 runs at 200 SR to propel the hosts to 61/1 in the powerplay overs. After Shikhar Dhawan’s dismissal for a measly 10, Prithvi Shaw complimented his Mumbai statemate with a fluent innings up top, as the duo collected 16 runs off one Khaleel Ahmed over. Delhi would take this score anyday.
The huge target on the board demanded nothing but a sincere approach from the Sunrisers Hyderabad top order but Jonny Bairstow’s display was anything but that. The Englishman could only manage 6 runs off 11 deliveries while Kane Williamson was dismissed for 2 off 3. Things seemed bleak for the franchise, with Manish Pandey deciding to take the cautious route, and eventually, the side could put up 39 runs with field restrictions on.
Middle-overs manoeuvring: Delhi 9/10 Hyderabad 5/10
78 runs in the nine-over period put Delhi in a good position in the game and the credit goes to their consistent source of perpetual inspiration, skipper Shreyas Iyer. The Mumbaikar seems to be attaining a whole new level of spirituality in this SRL and today he delivered once again even though wickets started falling in a heap around him. He had brief support from Rishabh Pant but the organicness of his batting ensured Delhi scamper home the advantage.
If the powerplay phase was a complete disaster, the middle-over phase ensured Hyderabad shutting down all the chances of having a sniff in the game. Losing four wickets in the phase, they had dug their own grave and, on top of that, only two overs yielded more than 10 runs. The double-edged sword failed them completely as the one-time champion added 77 runs in the entire nine-over period.
Death bowling: Delhi 9/10 Hyderabad 4.5/10
The game was on a singular plane of indifference in all three phases, with bat dominating the ball. A combination of David Warner already exhausting three Rashid Khan overs before Hyderabad were confused about how to go about things, and Rashid and Khaleel combinedly giving away 32 runs in two overs further incensed the innings. Delhi, with Iyer around, had the licence to go big and then Marcus Stoinis added fuel to guide the hosts to 198/6 in 20 overs - in other words, 59 runs in five overs.
While the first two overs of this phase was in favour of Hyderabad, with their will to not give up standing out, the next three overs was a tribute to the Delhi bowlers’ resilience. The pace bowling duo of Ishant Sharma and Kagiso Rabada dismissed four Hyderabad batsmen within a space of 9 balls to wrap their innings and also helped their side secure a comfortable victory.
Match Frenzy O Meter - DULL
For the majority of the match, the pendulum stopped in the middle with all occasional fleeting brilliance seeming like a thing of temporary attraction. There was no fun apart from that as Delhi scampered home in a canter. A dull game, if there ever was one.