David Warner got the best of Sunrisers Hyderabad for the first time since being released last year, hitting 92 off 58 balls as Delhi Capitals won by a comfortable margin at Brabourne Stadium on Thursday (May 5). After being asked to bat, Warner and Rovman Powell, who was even more destructive in their fourth-wicket stand of 122, helped the Capitals to a formidable score of 207/3. The Sunrisers fell behind the rate too early in the chase, leaving Nicholas Pooran with a lot to do, and eventually lost by 21 runs.
Warner gets Capitals going
In the absence of Prithvi Shaw, Warner was paired with a different opening partner against Sunrisers, with Mandeep Singh getting his first shot of the season. Delhi have made four lineup changes, with this being one of them. But Mandeep didn’t survive long. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s wicket-maiden in the first over sent the Capitals reeling. In the powerplay, however, Warner made sure they didn’t lose much ground.
After a slow start, Umran Malik exploded for 21 runs in the fourth over, including two fours and a six from Warner. While Malik was speedy, he couldn’t get those deliveries high enough to concern Warner, who easily swiveled over and despatched it behind square.
Along with the pull shots, Warner was brutal on the wide, which the Sunrisers continued to give him. Three of his seven boundaries in the powerplay were pull shots, while four came off full and wide deliveries that allowed him to release his arms, according to Cricbuzz ball-by-ball data. As a result, the Capitals were 50/2 after six overs.
But there was a mini-explosion from captain Rishabh Pant before that. Pant hit 6, 6, 6, 4 in the ninth over against Shreyas Gopal, who was making his SRH debut, before pulling a wide full toss off the inside edge onto his stumps with the final delivery of the over.
Rovman Powell came out to bat after Pant’s wicket. Powell went on to show what he could accomplish when given extra time in the middle, batting higher than normal after encouraging his captain to trust him.
Warner took charge from the other end as he raced past his fifty and kept the boundaries flowing from over 10-15, allowing the Jamaican powerhitter to play himself in. Powell was also handed a life when he crunched a full Malik delivery straight to mid-off, but the ball burst out of Williamson’s hands after rocketing to him. But now that everything was out of the way, Powell went all out on the Sunrisers. He went from 21 off his first 19 balls to 67* off 35 balls.
The final over was the pinnacle of that assault. Powell hit three fours and a six against Umran Malik’s thunderbolts, the fastest of which was bowled at 157kph, as the 20th over went for 21, ending the innings on a high note. With the exception of Bhuvneshwar, who finished with numbers of 1/25, all of the bowlers struggled greatly.
SRH has a shaky start.
Sunrisers have been relying on Abhishek Sharma at the top of the order, and they might have used a quick start if they were chasing a huge total. In the second over, however, he was despatched cheaply, smashing a half-volley off the pads to short fine leg. Williamson didn’t last long either as Anrich Nortje, making it into the team, swiped him off with a pacy length ball. The Sunrisers concluded the powerplay at 35/2, significantly behind the pace.
Pooran is fighting an uphill struggle.
The asking rate was already over 14 at the midway point of the chase. Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran have been the cornerstones in the center for the Sunrisers, and they’ve rekindled their partnership. For a couple of overs, Markram unleashed a barrage of boundaries to keep them in touch with the rate. But he couldn’t keep up the attack, mistaking Khaleel and fleeing to 42. Pooran assumed command, ensuring that the required rate did not spiral out of control. Until the final four overs, it was hovering around 15 rpo. But it only took one tight over from Khaleel, and Pooran was removed for 62 off 34 balls in the next over from Thakur. He wasn’t happy, and the umpire didn’t flag a no-ball despite a close call on whether the complete toss was above the waist. The Capitals had sealed the deal, and the Sunrisers had suffered their third consecutive loss.
Delhi Capitals won by 21 runs over Sunrisers Hyderabad 186/8 (Pooran 62; Khaleel 3/30) with a total of 207/3 (Warner 92*, Powell 67*; Bhuvneshwar 1/25).