Dubai (UAE): Delhi Capitals batsman Shreyas Iyer's masterful stroke and Anrich Nortje brilliant display with the ball helped Delhi Capitals crush SunRisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter here at the Dubai International Stadium on Wednesday. DC chased the target of 134 in 17.5 overs losing two wickets. "Happy to be back out there! Great team effort today, onwards and upwards," Iyer tweeted. Shreyas Iyer and Shikhar Dhawan played innings of 47 and 42 respectively to take Delhi Capitals home with a victory. DC captain Rishabh Pant also played a crucial quickfire inning of 35* in 21 balls. For SRH, Khaleel Ahmed and Rashid Khan scalped one wicket each.
With this victory, Delhi have moved top of the IPL points table, toppling Chennai Super Kings to the second. And the defeat here means SRH hopes of the playoff are now almost dusted as they stay at bottom of the table with one win from eight games. Chasing a modest target of 134, DC enjoyed a good start as they lost just one wicket in the powerplay and scored 39 runs. Khaleel Ahmed got the wicket of Prithvi Shaw 11(8) in the third over after Williamson took a brilliant catch of the Indian opener. Shreyas Iyer and Shikhar Dhawan continued with their aggressive batting in the following overs.
The duo completed a fine half-century partnership between them as Delhi moved to 70/1. Soon, Rashid Khan did the trick for SRH in the 11th over as the Afghan bowler removed dangerous-looking Shikhar Dhawan (42). DC captain Rishabh Pant joined Iyer on the pitch and wasted no time in showing his aggressive intent as the duo continued chipping boundaries whenever they get the chance. DC former captain and the incumbent one combined to add 67, as Capitals easily chased the target in the 17.5 overs. Earlier, Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada starred with the ball as Delhi Capitals (DC) restricted SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) to 134/9.
Anrich Nortje (2-12), Kagiso Rabada (3-37), and Axar Patel (2-21) bamboozled the opposition with their pace, accuracy and length. For, SRH Abdul Samad and Rashid Khan played innings of 28 and 22 respectively. Opting to bat first, SRH had a shaky start when their star overseas opener David Warner walked back to the pavilion in the very first over of the innings. The South African speedster ousted Warner on pace and the Australian got out for a three-ball duck. SRH captain Kane Williamson, and Wriddhiman Saha managed to gain momentum in the match but opposition bowlers gave them no respite.