Rashid Khan took two wickets and conceded 23 runs in the game against Delhi Daredevils. Image Courtesy: BCCI
Sunrisers Hyderabad kept their winning streak alive after registering a nail-biting victory against the Delhi Daredevils by 7 wickets with an over to spare. Delhi Daredevils needed a victory badly. However, Hyderabad held on to their nerves and chased down the required target with a delivery to spare.
Earlier in the day, Delhi Daredevils registered a score of 163/5 in their allotted 20 overs. Prithvi Shaw was the top scorer scoring 65 of 36 deliveries. Shaw was at his fluent best looked in great touch during his breezy knock. He was eventually dismissed by Rashid Khan but by then he had got Delhi off to a breezy start.
Captain Shreyas Iyer also scored 44 of 36 deliveries. Rishabh Pant was not in his usual flow and was eventually dismissed by the leg-spinner while attempting a big shot. Delhi was not looking in complete control of proceedings. However, Vijay Shankar provided the late impetus with a quickfire 23 of just 13 deliveries which included a four and a six. Daredevils eventually finished on 163/5 in their allotted 20 overs.
Sunrisers began in a spanking fashion. The opening duo of Shikhar Dhawan and Alex Hales shared a brilliant 76 runs partnership to begin with. Hales struck 3 fours and 3 sixes during his knock of 45 of 31 deliveries. Shikhar Dhawan made 33 of 30 deliveries which included a couple of fours and a six. It was Amit Mishra who dismissed both the opening batsmen which brought Delhi back into the game.
The Delhi bowlers were up to the mark till the 18th over. However, it was Yusuf Pathan who turned the match on it’s head with his exceptional strokeplay. He remained unbeaten on 27 of just 12 deliveries which were studded with a couple of fours and sixes each.
Also Read: IPL 2018: We Didn’t Give Up Till the End – Shreyas Iyer
IPL 2018: Sportzwiki’s Man of the Match – Alex Hales.
Here is what winning skipper Kane Williamson said at the post-match presentation
“I don’t think there’s any secret. As a team, we are trying to play our roles and adapt to the surfaces. We were on a different one again. Both teams used the new ball well. I thought the way we came back with the ball was really important. In terms of getting more runs, they looked like they would. It was nice to restrict them to a par score.
They certainly put us under a lot of pressure. The bowlers responded well. We knew that the middle overs would be tough. Certainly, the two openers did that. Those PP overs were extremely important. He’s (Hales) a world-class international cricketer and it was great that he was able to give a good start. He (Pathan) hits the ball really well. Great example shown today.
He performed well in tough conditions, against a good DD side. We still have too many games left. From a team’s perspective, we are looking for improvement. Today was a good team performance, not perfect.”
