Delhi Capitals thrashed Sunrisers Hyderabad by 21 runs at the Brabourne Stadium on Thursday to reach number 5 in the IPL 2022 points table. David Warner batted for DC with an unbeaten 92 against his old team in what was billed as a grudge match, while Rovman Powell scored an unbeaten 67 off 35 balls.
Chasing 208 for their sixth win of the season, Sunrisers Hyderabad got off to a poor start, losing within 7 overs to Abhishek Sharma, Kane Williamson and Rahul Tripathi. Nicholas Pooran (62) and Aiden Markram (42) tried heroically but SRH missed their third consecutive defeat after a five-match winning streak.
Khaleel Ahmed (3 for 30) was one of the bowlers for Delhi Capitals, who have now reinvented themselves to make it to the playoffs.
The match was an opportunity for David Warner to avenge the humiliation he had suffered last year and Australian star Sunrisers Hyderabad was ready. After Kane Williamson won the toss and decided to bowl, Warner went all guns blazing while he lost his teammates at the other end. David Warner showed no mercy to SRH’s pace attack after a watchful start against Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Rishabh Pant played an amusing cameo before scoring 26 off 17 balls.
But the real fireworks came in a sensational partnership between David Warner and Rovman Powell, who added 122 runs in 11 overs for the fourth wicket and 207 for 3 in DC’s 20 overs.
David Warner could not complete his century but played an unbeaten 92 off 58 balls, while Powell was dismissed for an unbeaten 67 off 35 balls.
bravery in vain
Chasing 208 runs, Sunrisers Hyderabad did not get the kind of start they needed. Abhishek Sharma, their young opener went first when he hit a half volley off Khaleel Ahmed to Kuldeep Yadav at short fine leg. It was a poor delivery from Khaleel Ahmed but Delhi Capitals had no reason to complain as they got the first breakthrough.
SRH captain Kane Williamson watched as his former teammate David Warner destroyed his bowlers and then scored 4 off 11 balls before a temporary prod behind a length delivery from Enrique Nortje. At that point, SRH were still at 24 for 2 in the 5th over despite needing a powerful start in the powerplays.
Rahul Tripathi has had a strong tournament run for SRH and was expected to play a stellar role in the massive chase. He started well but had to make a comeback in 18 balls with 2 fours and 1 six in 22 balls. Rahul Tripathi was under pressure to break free from DC’s grip, but Mitchell Marsh’s short-arm jab found Shardul Thakur in the deep back. ,
Now the responsibility was on the experienced Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran.
At the half-way stage, SRH were 63 for 3 and needed 145 from the remaining 10 overs.
Aiden Markram came back strongly for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 11th over and hit Mitchell Marsh for three fours. At that point SRH needed 15 runs-on-overs and Aiden Markram had to go for the big shots.
In the 12th over, Aiden Markram hit Kuldeep Yadav for six consecutive sixes to announce his intention to chase a tough target.
Aiden Markram was firing great guns but Khaleel Ahmed came back and stopped the attack. His innings of 42 off 25 balls had given Sunrisers Hyderabad a ray of hope, but it was also a testament to Khali’s grit. In the previous ball, Khaleel struck a blow to his left collarbone with a Pooran shot, but he came back from pain to get rid of the dangerous Markram with a slower ball.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will soon be in more trouble. Shashank Singh, who made a name for himself a few nights ago with a blistering knock down order, fell at the hands of Shardul Thakur as Delhi Capitals moved closer to victory.
However, Nicholas Pooran, who was recently named as the captain of West Indies’ new shorter formats, was not yet ready to give up. He scored a sensational half-century to keep the chase alive for SRH.
Khaleel Ahmed ended a fine spell with the wicket of Shaun Abbott and it was getting tough for SRH, who needed 55 runs in the last 3 overs. Nicholas Pooran started Shardul Thakur’s 18th over with a boundary and then a six and a full-toss hit Powell straight at long-on.
It was only a matter of time before DC won by 21 runs, as SRH posted only 186 for 8 in their 20 overs.
Warner’s Revenge
David Warner was playing in the grudge match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, make no mistake. One of the most successful batsmen in IPL history, Warner was first sacked as captain and then unintentionally dropped from the playing XI by SRH last season. He was the same man who led SRH to the title win in 2016 with 848 runs with his bat. In 2017, Warner was on fire again and scored 641 runs followed by 692 runs in 2019 with 548 runs in 2020 as SRH made it to the playoffs.
However, after a few bad matches, SRH seemed to have it with David Warner.
Released by SRH, David Warner was bought by Delhi Capitals in the 2022 player auction. Warner had already scored three half-centuries before Wednesday but kept his best reserve for his old team.
Delhi Capitals sent Mandeep Singh to open with Warner in the absence of Prithvi Shaw, but Mandeep fell to Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the first over while Mitchell Marsh hit a four off Sean Abbott.
Rishabh Pant walked at number 4 and played a cameo before being dismissed for 26 off 17 balls by Shreyas Gopal.
Meanwhile, David Warner continued his carnage against Sunrisers Hyderabad and set his eyes on Umran Malik, whose first over went for 21 runs. No SRH bowler was spared except Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who scored only 1 run in the first two overs.
David Warner found a capable ally in Rovman Powell, who provided the momentum to smash Abbott for consecutive sixes in the 17th over of the DC innings. At the other end, Warner was eyeing his fifth IPL century.
Moments before the toss, David Warner met Kane Williamson and hugged his former teammate. Shortly after, Warner was attacking his bowlers in a fierce display of power and class.
David Warner entered the 90s with three fours off Bhuvneshwar in the 19th over, while Powell remained unbeaten on 49 before Umran Malik’s final over.
David Warner remained stranded on 92 but Powell smashed Malik for 19, which included a boundary off 157 KMPH, which is now the fastest delivery of IPL 2022.
Rovman Powell hit Malik for a six and 3 fours as DC posted 207 for 3 in their 20 overs.