Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Delhi Daredevils by 15 runs in an all round display to move up to the second position in the points table. Riding on Kane Williamson’s 89 off just 51 balls and Shikhar Dhawan’s 70, the defending champions put up a grand total of 191 on a wicket where they defended 159 in the previous game. Delhi Daredevils were forced to play catch up throughout the game as they managed to reach just 176 in the designated 20 overs. Brilliant Williamson ensures another victory for the Sunrisers !
David Warner won the toss and defying all predictions and stats, decided to bat first on a ground where they had won 10 times out of 11 while chasing. Warner started by asking Delhi dugout to cover their refrigerator besides the sight screen (Parde me rehne do). In just the second over of the match, Morris dealt a severe blow to Hyderabad’s hopes as Warner chipped a rising delivery straight into the hands of short fine leg. But then the batting coaching manual Kane Williamson came out to bat.
Playing in his first game of IPL 2017, Williamson showed why he is regarded as one of the finest batsman in the world. The shots that he played forced the cameraman to replay it over and over. The one that went over square leg, a pull off a slower one, a straight drive off a full toss, an inside out stroke and a back foot punch towards mid wicket, all were executed with too much finesse. Everyone watched with awe as Williamson took out some beautiful shots out of his armoury (As if Sunny Leone was not enough for the awe factor). The most beautiful of them was when he walked down the pitch to send the ball sailing over the sight screen.
Shikhar Dhawan on the other end looked in good touch for the first time in tournament. The voracious square cut and an elegant cover drive showed his good intentions. Pat Cummins and Angelo Mathews were under pressure throughout the innings as the two Hyderabad batsman mounted runs. Mishra also took some beating as Wiliiamson picked him up for two sixes over long on and mid wicket. Chris Morris who bowled beautifully in powerplay. managed to get Williamson caught at mid wicket where Shreyas Iyer completed a beautiful catch. Dhawan carried on from where Williamson left and made some important runs for Sunrisers. Morris took the wickets of Dhawan and Yuvraj to finish with figures of 4 for 26 off 4 overs.
Chasing 191, Delhi Daredevils didn’t get a good start and Mohd. Siraj playing his first IPL game got the wicket off Sam Billings early after being hit for 3 fours. Sanju Samson and Karun Nair then came together to forge a good partnership and Delhi raced to 80 off just 9 overs. With Karun Nair back in form and Sanju Samson all set, the game was on. But then came the twist in the tale. A flat throw by Vijay Shankar, the substitute fielder found Karun Nair short of his crease as he went for a second run.
With Sunrisers playing only four main regulars bowlers, Yuvraj Singh, “The Man with the Golden Arm” got to bowl. He did not disappoint as he got the in-form Rishabh Pant caught at long on by Warner who looked in some discomfort after putting in a dive while saving a boundary (he can give Usain Bolt a run for his money in sprint). Samson also couldn’t carry on as he became the second victim of the local boy Siraj.
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After Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Daredevils is another team that has given lot of opportunities to Indian youngsters. One more young batsman put up his hand today, Shreyas Iyer. Iyer smashed two sixes off Rashid and struck 5 fours to keep Delhi in the hunt but Angelo Mathews, who was sent ahead of Chris Morris wasn’t able to contribute much.
With 34 required off the last 2 overs, Delhi had their chance, but the best bowler of IPL 2017 so far, Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled as he always do and Siddharth Kaul delivered some accurate yorkers (Malinga with a straight arm and straight hair) in the last over to seal the win for Sunrisers Hyderabad. With 2 consecutive losses in closely contested matches, Delhi Daredevils need to brush up their socks and Sunrisers would be delighted to see Kane Williamson amongst the runs.
