Dubai: Delhi Capitals bowlers combined forces to keep Sunrisers Hyderabad at a below-par 134/9 in 20 overs in their opening match of the second leg of IPL 2021 here on Wednesday. Delhi bowlers were impressive on a night when Hyderabad huffed and puffed throughout their innings.
After electing to bat first, Hyderabad had a horror start with David Warner out for duck off Anrich Nortje on third ball of the innings. Trying to flick towards leg-side, Warner got a leading edge caught by Axar Patel at point.
Wriddhiman Saha (18) played some eye-catchy boundaries, including a six with a flick over deep mid-wicket off Kagiso Rabada in the fifth over. But on the final ball, Rabada had the last laugh as Saha mistimed a pull and top-edge flew to Shikhar Dhawan at mid-wicket.
Captain Kane Williamson (18) looked scratchy and was far from his best. After surviving two dropped chances in a span of five balls, Williamson tried to go big against Axar Patel. But his loft came off the toe-end of the bat and was caught by Shimron Hetmyer at long-off running to his right.
One brought two for Delhi as Rabada followed Manish Pandey (17) with a short ball angled towards the body. Cramped for room, Pandey tried to flick awkwardly. But the ball took the leading edge and Rabada moved to his right to complete an easy catch.
Nortje's return into the attack brought another wicket for Delhi, with Kedar Jadhav (3) trapped plumb in front of the wicket. Jadhav sought a review but couldn't reverse the decision. Hyderabad's problems increased as Jason Holder (3) drove straight to Prithvi Shaw at cover off Patel.
Abdul Samad (28) hit Rabada for a boundary on the first ball. But on the next ball, Rabada removed Samad with a short ball which he tried to pull, only for the top-edge to be pouched by Rishabh Pant.
Rashid Khan cracked Rabada for a six, sliced over backward point followed by a four with a top-edge over the keeper in the same over, collecting some crucial runs for his team. But Khan's bid to lend some respectability to the total were stopped by a run-out from Steve Smith. Pant's accurate throw on the final ball of the innings caught Sandeep Sharma short of the crease, bringing Hyderabad's innings to a close.
Brief Scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 134/9 in 20 overs (Abdul Samad 28, Rashid Khan 22, Kagiso Rabada 3/37, Anrich Nortje 2/12) against Delhi Capitals.
IANS
