Clinical DC beat SRH by 17 runs, through to maiden IPL final
Abu Dhabi, November 8, 2020
Kagiso Rabada's four wicket-haul, Shikhar Dhawan's 78 and an all-round effort by Marcus Stoinis led a clinical Delhi Capitals (DC) to a 17-run win over SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the second Qualifier of the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL). Chasing a target of 190, SRH were limited to 172/8 in their 20 overs.
DC have gone through to their first IPL final, where they face defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) on November 10. The final this season will thus be contested between the two highest ranked teams in the group stage with DC finishing second with 16 points and MI first with 18.
SRH were off to a shakey start in the chase with their captain and opener David Warner falling to Rabada in the second over for just two runs. Fellow opener Priyam Garg next fell to Stoinis in the fourth over and Manish Pandey fell two balls later which meant that SRH had lost their top order in the powerplay.
This was in stark contras to DC whose openers Stoinis and Dhawan had scored 65 runs in the first six overs.
However, SRH were kept in the game by their middle order anchored by Kane Williamson, who scored 67 runs in 45 balls. He first shared a 46-run stand with Jason Holder for the fourth wicket and a 57-run stand with Abdul Samad for the fifth.
Williamson fell to Stoinis after which Rabada got Samad, Rashid Khan and Shreevats Goswami in the 19th over to effectively end the contest.
Earlier, Stoinis and Dhawan's 86-run opening stand followed by Shimron Hetmyer's fireworks towards the end of the innings helped DC score 189/3 in their 20 overs.
Shikhar Dhawan led the way with a 50-ball 78 as DC batsmen finally found form to post 189/3 in their 20 overs against a sloppy SRH.
SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the second Qualifier of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Sunday.
Marcus Stoinis, who was promoted to the top of the order, posted an opening partnership of 86 runs with Dhawan.
The pair smashed 65 runs in the powerplay. Jason Holder, who has been a game changer for SRH in recent games, bore the brunt of the openers' belligerence with Stoinis taking 18 runs off the fourth over bowled by the West Indies all-rounder.
Holder was also taken on by his West Indies team mate Shimron Hetmyer later in the innings. His figures read 1/50 in four overs with DC captain Shreyas Iyer being the lone wicket Holder managed. Hetmyer was unbeaten on 42.
SRH were sloppy in the field and dropped three catches. Spinner Rashid Khan got one wicket and conceded 26 runs, four of which came from his own overthrows.
Brief scores: DC 189/3 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 78, Shimron Hetmyer 42 not out; Rashid Khan 1/26) vs SRH 172/8 in 20 overs (Kane Williamson 62, Abdul Samad 33; Kagiso Rabada 4/29)
IANS
