IPL 2021: Dominant Delhi moves to top spot after emphatic win against SRH

Dubai : Anrich Nortje brilliant display with the ball was followed by a masterful knock by Shreyas Iyer as Delhi Capitals crushed SunRisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets, chasing the target of 134 in 17.5 overs in an Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter here at the Dubai International Stadium on Wednesday.

Shreyas Iyer and Shikhar Dhawan played innings of 47 and 42 respectively to take Delhi Capitals home with a victory. DC captain Rishabh Pant also played a crucial quickfire inning of 35* in 21 balls. For SRH, Khaleel Ahmed and Rashid Khan scalped one wicket each. With this victory, Delhi have moved top of the IPL points table, toppling Chennai Super Kings to the second. And the defeat here means SRH hopes of the playoff are now almost dusted as they stay at bottom of the table with one win from eight games.

Chasing a modest target of 134, DC enjoyed a good start as they lost just one wicket in the powerplay and scored 39 runs. Khaleel Ahmed got the wicket of Prithvi Shaw 11(8) in the third over after Williamson took a brilliant catch of the Indian opener.

Shreyas Iyer and Shikhar Dhawan continued with their aggressive batting in the following overs. The duo completed a fine half-century partnership between them as Delhi moved to 70/1. Soon, Rashid Khan did the trick for SRH in the 11th over as the Afghan bowler removed dangerous-looking Shikhar Dhawan (42).

DC captain Rishabh Pant joined Iyer on the pitch and wasted no time in showing his aggressive intent as the duo continued chipping boundaries whenever they get the chance. DC former captain and the incumbent one combined to add 67, as Capitals easily chased the target in the 17.5 overs.

Earlier, Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada starred with the ball as Delhi Capitals (DC) restricted SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) to 134/9. Anrich Nortje (2-12), Kagiso Rabada (3-37), and Axar Patel (2-21) bamboozled the opposition with their pace, accuracy and length. For, SRH Abdul Samad and Rashid Khan played innings of 28 and 22 respectively.

Opting to bat first, SRH had a shaky start when their star overseas opener David Warner walked back to the pavilion in the very first over of the innings. The South African speedster ousted Warner on pace and the Australian got out for a three-ball duck.

SRH captain Kane Williamson, and Wriddhiman Saha managed to gain momentum in the match but opposition bowlers gave them no respite. With continuous pressure on one end, Saha took his chances against Kagiso Rabada and welcomed the South African bowler with a six in the fifth over. But SA bowler had the last laugh as Saha went back to the dressing room after got beaten for pace with the short ball.

After the first powerplay, SRH were 32/2. In the 9th over of the innings, Marcus Stoinis walked off the field after getting injured. In the very next over SRH captain Williamson got caught by Hetmyer off Axar Patel bowling after getting lucky two times in the match.

Manish Pandey soon followed his captain to the pavilion in the next over after Rabada got him caught and bowled. With runs in scarcity for the team in orange, the wickets continued falling as Nortje trapped Kedar Jadhav for LBW in the 13th over.

Axar Patel got Jason Holder (10) in the 16th over. Kagiso Rabada removed dangerous-looking Abdul Samad (28) in the 19th over but conceded 14 runs. Rashid Khan (22) played an important cameo for SRH before getting run out in the last over of the innings. Sandeep Sharma (0) got run out in the last ball of the innings.

Brief Scores: SunRisers Hyderabad (Abdul Samad 28, Rashid Khan 22; Kagiso Rabada 3-37, Anrich Nortje 2-12) vs Delhi Capitals (Shreyas Iyer 47*, Shikhar Dhawan 42; Rashid Khan 1-26, Khaleel Ahmed 1-33)