It was supposed to be Rishabh Pant’s emotional homecoming at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday. But Pat Cummins-led Sunrisers Hyderabad had other plans. The visitors defeated the home side by resounding 67 runs at Qila Kotla with sheer powerhouse batting by man of the moment – Travis Head. Winning their fourth league game on the trot, SRH have now placed themselves comfortably at second position thereby solidifying their chance at playoff berth. 

Head’s 32-ball-89 and his total destruction of DC bowling along with Abhishek Sharma (46 runs in 12 balls) made sure that SRH had out-batted the opponents and put up a gigantic total of 266/7 in  20 overs. SRH owners also created a record of highest power play total in the IPL. At 125/0 after powerplay, the projected score was 350+ and had Kuldeep Yadav not got rid of Travis Head, it looked like a sure-shot thing.  

Responding to the challenge, Jake-Fraser McGurk’s aggressive and captivating innings of 65 off just 18 balls sparked hopes of an unlikely victory. Partnering with Abhishek Porel, who contributed 42 runs from 22 deliveries, they added 84 runs for the third wicket in a mere five overs. However, after Fraser-McGurk’s dismissal, Delhi Capitals lost their momentum, ultimately getting all-out for 199 in 19.1 overs.

Delhi Capitals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad scorecard

Delhi Capitals:

  • Prithvi Shaw c Samad b Sundar 16
  • David Warner c Cummins b Bhuvneshwar 1
  • Jake Fraser-McGurk c Klaasen b Markande 65
  • Abhishek Porel st Klaasen b Markande 42
  • Tristan Stubbs c Ahmed b Nitish Reddy 10
  • Rishabh Pant c Natarajan b Nitish Reddy 44
  • Lalit Yadav b Natarajan 7
  • Axar Patel c Cummins b Natarajan 6
  • Anrich Nortje b Natrajan 0
  • Kuldeep Yadav lbw Natarajan 0
  • Mukesh Kumar (not out) 0
  • Extras (LB-1, W-7) 8
  • Total (all out, 19.1 overs) 199
  • Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-25, 3-109, 4-135, 5-154, 6-166, 7-199, 8-199, 9-199.
  • Bowling: Washington Sundar 2-0-46-1, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4-0-33-1, Pat Cummins 4-0-35-0, T Natarajan Mayank Markande 2-0-26-2, Shahabaz Ahmed 1-0-22-0, Nitish Kumar Reddy 2.1-0-17-2.

SRH innings:

  • Travis Head c Stubbs b Kuldeep 89
  • Abhishek Sharma c Patel b Kuldeep 46
  • Aiden Markram c Patel b Kuldeep 1
  • Heinrich Klaasen b Patel 15
  • Nitish Kumar Reddy c Warner b Kuldeep 37
  • Shahbaz Ahmed not out 59
  • Abdul Samad c Nortje b Mukesh 13
  • Pat Cummins (c) run out 1
  • Washington Sundar not out 0
  • Extras: (B-1, LB-1, W-3) 5
  • Total: (For 7 wickets in 20 overs) 266
  • Fall of wickets: 1-131, 2-133, 3-154, 4-154, 5-221, 6-250, 7-256.
  • Bowling: Khaleel Ahmed 3-0-51-0, Lalit Yadav 2-0-41-0, Anrich Nortje 3-0-31-0, Kuldeep Yadav 4-0-55-4, Mukesh Kumar 4-0-57-1, Axar Patel 4-0-29-1.