Anurag Kumar
In this IPL season, neither Sunrisers Hyderabad nor Delhi Capitals can consider batting as their primary strength. On a difficult batting surface in Hyderabad on Monday, Delhi’s total was just enough to secure a victory by seven runs. After electing to bat and scoring 144/9, David Warner’s team was able to limit Sunrisers to 137/6. It was Delhi’s second consecutive victory after beginning the season with five defeats. The first time Delhi has effectively defended a total of less than 150 runs was due to a collective effort with the ball. The 69-run partnership between Manish Pandey and Axar Patel was also crucial for the visitors.
In a game where the momentum swung like a pendulum, the Sunrisers were ultimately left requiring 13 runs from the final over. Substitute seamer Mukesh Kumar maintained his composure to allow only five runs per over. Washington Sundar (24 not out, 15 balls) did well to keep SRH in contention until the final over, but he was unable to locate the gaps in the end.
Despite Mayank Agarwal (49, 39 balls) hitting six fours in the powerplay and capitalizing on a hint of width outside off-stump, Sunrisers were only able to reach 36/1 in the first six overs of their pursuit. Agarwal and Rahul Tripathi were unable to make a single boundary between the seventh and tenth overs as the asking rate continued to rise during the middle period. The sequence was eventually broken in the eleventh over when Agarwal hit a short ball to the deep point fielder’s right for four.
Still, SRH required 78 runs in the remaining nine overs. Tripathi’s inability to find his rhythm increased the strain on Agarwal to maintain the asking rate. He charged Axar Patel, but was overcome by the motion and missed his shot at Aman Khan in the end.
The loss of three wickets in rapid succession left SRH needing 56 runs in the remaining five overs. Just as the game appeared to be drifting away, Washington and Heinrich Klaasen gave the home team new life. They scored 28 runs in the sixteenth and seventeenth overs, reducing the equation to 23 runs off 12 deliveries. However, Klaasen’s dismissal in the penultimate over had a decisive effect on the final result.
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Delhi will be delighted with their victory despite another average batting performance. At 49/2 after six overs, they had a solid foundation on which to construct a substantial score. Mitchell Marsh laid the groundwork with a 15-ball 25 that included four fours in one over by left-arm pacer Marco Jansen. There were flicks through the leg-side and precise drives through the cover zone.
These appeared to be encouraging signals for a player who had not reached double figures during the current season. In four previous contests, the imposing Australian batsman had posted scores of 0, 0, 0 and 2 to contribute to the batting unit’s lackluster performances. T Natarajan, a left-arm pacer, ended his innings by trapping him leg-before in the fifth over, despite the fact that Delhi desperately required him to continue batting now that he had shown some form.
After Marsh was dismissed in the fifth over, it was Warner’s responsibility to provide the impetus. The fact that he hit his first six of the season on Monday (in his seventh game), a slog sweep against Washington over square leg, is indicative of his bizarre run. Having previously completed the slog sweep, he hoped for a similar outcome but was only able to take out Harry Brook at deep backward square leg.
In the same over, Washington dismissed Sarfaraz Khan and Aman, who were both responsible for subpar execution. While Sarfaraz attempted a slog sweep that carried to Bhuvneshwar Kumar at deep backward square leg, Aman played a reckless shot that Abhishek Sharma easily caught at cover. In just six deliveries, Delhi’s score dropped from 57/2 to 62/5.
This was exactly what the 23-year-old off-spinner needed after conceding 13 runs in his first over of the season, during which he had not taken a wicket until Monday.
The dire situation necessitated a meaningful partnership for Delhi. Pandey and Axar, aware that another wicket at that stage could spell doom, chose to accrue singles and doubles with the occasional boundary until the final four overs. When Mayank Markande was bowling his final over, Axar decided to accelerate, striking three consecutive fours in a 15-run over. Their strategy was successful in the end.
