Sunrisers Hyderabad’s philosophy of living by the sword and dying by it led them to their second successive defeat, against Delhi Capitals in Vizag. Mitchell Starc picked his maiden T20 fifer to keep SRH down to 163 despite Aniket Verma’s six-hitting exhibition in a 41-ball 74 before the DC top-order chased it down with 7 wickets and four overs to spare.
Mitchell Starc attacks SRH's batting order
Pat Cummins became the first captain this season to choose to bat first after winning the toss, but his formidable top-order was swiftly dismantled by Mitchell Starc. Abhishek Sharma was run out due to a mix-up between the openers, and shortly thereafter, Starc dismissed Ishan Kishan, Nitish Reddy, and Travis Head by the fifth over. As a result, since the start of IPL 2024, Starc has claimed 8 wickets in 11 overs against SRH during the PowerPlay. SRH could have been five wickets down before the end of the PowerPlay, but Abishek Porel dropped a catch, granting Aniket Verma a second chance.
Aniket showcased his power against DC’s spinners, beginning with a six and a four off Vipraj Nigam in the seventh over. In the following over, he struck Axar for two consecutive sixes and also targeted Mohit Sharma. Heinrich Klaasen then greeted Kuldeep Yadav with a straight six, continuing their fifth-wicket partnership. They propelled the team past the 100-run mark by the halfway point, but DC retaliated with an outstanding catch from Vipraj Nigam that dismissed the South African. Kuldeep and Axar then bowled three exceptional overs, allowing only eight runs. Meanwhile, Aniket reached his first IPL half-century and attacked Axar again in a 17-run 15th over.
Aniket was dismissed in the 16th over while attempting another big six, ending his innings at 74 runs off 41 balls. Starc returned to quickly conclude the innings in the 19th over, taking out Harshal Patel and Wiaan Mulder. SRH finished with a total of 163 runs, while the Australian fast bowler ended with impressive figures of 5-35, marking his first five-wicket haul in T20 cricket.
Faf Du Plesis and JFM easily chase down the target for Delhi Capitals (DC)
Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser-McGurk began their innings strongly, effectively tackling all four bowling options presented by Cummins during the PowerPlay. Although Harshal Patel delivered a solid first over, Cummins himself was hit for 13 runs. Shami started off well but made a mistake in his second over, allowing DC to gain control early in their chase. Zeeshan Ansari, the young leg-spinner from SRH, claimed three wickets; however, this did not change the momentum of the match as the home team continued to progress towards their target with contributions from various batters.
Du Plessis reached a half-century in just 26 balls, while McGurk displayed urgency before being dismissed by the spinner. At the halfway mark, DC had amassed 96 runs, comfortably ahead of the required run rate. KL Rahul, making his debut for DC, marked the occasion by hitting Shami for two fours and a six in the 11th over. Abishek Porel then entered the fray and continued the scoring spree, striking Ansari for a four and a six in the 14th over. By the end of the 15th over, DC had reached 150/3, needing only 13 runs to secure victory. Porel aggressively targeted Wiaan Mulder in the 16th over, leading to a decisive win.
SCORECARD: Sunrisers Hyderabad 163 in 18.4 overs (Aniket Verma 74, Heinrich Klaasen 32; Mitchell Starc 5-35, Kuldeep Yadav 3-22) lost to Delhi Capitals 166/3 in 16 overs (Faf du Plessis 50, Jake Fraser-McGurk 38, Abishek Porel 34*; Zeeshan Ansari 3-42) by 7 wickets
