SRH RIDES ON RASHID ‘KANE’
Sunrisers Hyderabad defeats Delhi Capitals to post its first win of IPL 2020
ABU DHABI: Riding on the combined brilliance of Rashid Khan and Kane Willimason, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) beat Delhi Capitals (DC) by 15 runs to register its maiden victory in this edition’s Indian Premier League (IPL) here on Tuesday.
Set to chase 163, DC was restricted to 147 for seven, with Rashid taking three for 14. Earlier, opener Jonny Bairstow scored his second fifty of the tournament as Hyderabad posted a competitive 162 for four. Bairstow smashed two fours and one six in his 48-ball 53 and shared two crucial partnerships -- 77 off 57 balls with David Warner (45 off 33) for the opening stand and 52 off 38 balls with Kane Williamson (41 off 26) for the third wicket.
Making his IPL debut, Jammu and Kashmir’s Abdul Samad (12 off 7) blasted a four and six in his useful cameo. On what was a two-paced wicket, Capitals received an early jolt when the in-form Prithvi Shaw was removed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar for only two in the first over.
In walked the captain, Shreyas Iyer, and he found the going tough. At the other end, the more seasoned Shikhar Dhawan
kept the strike rotating and in between also found the gaps with his neat timing. At the completion of powerplay, Delhi was 34 for one.
Sensing the urgency to up the ante, Iyer clattered two boundaries but with the introduction of Rashid, Delhi lost its captain for 17 (21b, 2x4) in the eighth over. Rashid was in the act again and before long he accounted for the crucial wicket of Dhawan for 34 (31b, 4x4) with the score on 62. Enter Pant and after taking some time to get his eye in, the flamboyant batsman smacked his first six this IPL and followed it up with another off left-arm spinner Abhishek Sharma.
Just when the two southpaws in Pant and Shimron Hetmyer were stitching together a substantial partnership, that man Rashid again came back for his final over to get rid of the dangerous Pant for 32 (27b, 2x4, 2x6). Once the impressive left-arm pacer T Natarajan removed Marcus Stoinis for 11, with 37 needed in 12 balls, the game was over for DC.
BRIEF SCORES: Sunrisers Hyderabad 162/4 in 20 overs (D Warner 45, J Bairstow 53, K Williamson 41) bt Delhi Capitals 147/7 in 20 overs (S Dhawan 34, R Pant 32, R Khan 3/14)