After losing the toss, Sunrisers Hyderabad amassed 162 runs in their quota of 20 overs. Wriddhiman Saha couldn't use of the chance he got on the first ball of the game as Ishant Sharma got his team the early success.
New Delhi: The Eliminator of this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) between the Delhi Capitals (DC) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) turned out to be a real crackerjack of a contest. The match went down to the wire and eventually, Shreyas Iyer and Co came out trumps by two wickets with one ball to spare.
Amit Mishra got out obstructing the field in the last over when two runs were required off three balls and it spiced up the game somewhat, but the Capitals got over the line in the end, and will now play Chennai Super Kings on Friday.
After losing the toss, Sunrisers Hyderabad amassed 162 runs in their quota of 20 overs. Wriddhiman Saha couldn't use of the chance he got on the first ball of the game as Ishant Sharma got his team the early success. Saha's partner Martin Guptill played without any inhibition and got 36 runs off 19 balls with one boundary and four sixes. Mishra got the big fish in the seventh over. Manish Pandey struggled his way to 30 off 36 with three fours.
Kane Williamson also found the going tough and he got 28 runs off 27 balls before Ishant rattled his woodwork with a beautiful yorker. Vijay Shankar, towards the end, injected momentum into the innings with an 11-ball 25. Mohammad Nabi also chipped in with an important 13-ball 20 lower down the order to give the Orange Army a late push. Keemo Paul bowled a decent last over in which three wickets went down to restrict the scoring momentum.
Also read: IPL 2019: Kane Williamson's massive blunder showed Sunrisers Hyderabad the exit door
Delhi needed six runs off 6 balls for a victory. This was the equation before the start of the final over and almost everyone thought that it will be a cakewalk for Delhi Capitals. However, it was a nail-biting finish with Delhi finally managing to win on the second-last delivery of the game. Rishabh Pant's 49 off 21 balls was the actual difference between the two sides, as the Sunrisers had made a small comeback in the middle overs.
Let's look at the factors which helped Delhi Capitals to qualify for the next stage.
Delhi Capitals scored 22 runs off the 18th over.
Delhi Capitals were off to a blistering start with both Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw hammering the ball all around the ground. In no time, the duo registered a partnership of over 50 runs. However, at the score of 66, Delhi lost their first wicket in the form of Shikhar Dhawan. The wicket not only broke a flourishing partnership but the team also lost the momentum.
Chasing a stiff target, Delhi Capitals was reduced to 129 runs for the loss of five wickets at the end of 17th over. In the last three, the Capitals needed 34 runs and things were looking bleak. It was then that Kane Williamson introduced Basil Thampi into the attack. The 18th over was supposedly the deciding over of the innings. With Khaleel Ahmed left with two overs, almost every cricket expert termed the decision as a miscalculation, and one has to say, it panned out exactly as anticipated.
Then Delhi wicket-keeper batsman Pant simply exploded and tore apart the 26-year-old Thampi. Off the first four deliveries, Pant hit 20 runs as he hit two boundaries and two sixes each. Twenty-two runs came off the over and it completely changed the complexion of the match.
Although Sherfane Rutherford and Pant were dismissed in the next over, they had done their job and helped Delhi reach within touching distance of a win.
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