Delhi Capitals climb to 2nd after comfortable victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL
VISAKHAPATNAM, India (AP) — Faf du Plessis scored 50 off 27 balls as Delhi Capitals beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets on Sunday to secure a second consecutive win in the Indian Premier League.
The 40-year-old du Plessis hit three fours and three sixes as he put on 81 off 55 balls for the first wicket with Jake Fraser-McGurk (38) helping Delhi chase down the 164-run target with four overs to spare.
Earlier, Mitchell Starc picked up 5-35 in 3.4 overs to help bowl out Hyderabad for 163 runs in 18.4 overs. Delhi finished with 166-3 in 16 overs.
It was Starc’s maiden five-wicket haul in his fourth IPL season, and helped Delhi climb to second in the points table with two wins from two games.
In Guwahati, Rajasthan Royals got its first win of the season — a narrow six-run victory over Chennai Super Kings.
Nitish Rana’s 81 off 36 balls helped Rajasthan score 182-9 in 20 overs. Despite Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 63 off 44 balls, Chennai fell short on 176-6 for a second loss in three games.
Capitals stump Sunrisers
Hyderabad had opted to bat first but lost its way early in the innings. Hard-hitting opener Abhishek Sharma was run out for one, and the visitors were soon reduced to 37-4 in 4.1 overs.
Ishan Kishan, a centurion in the previous game, was out caught for two, while Nitish Reddy was dismissed for a two-ball duck.
Starc also sent back fellow Australian Travis Head – caught behind for 22 off 12 balls leaving Hyderabad’s innings in tatters.
Aniket Verma (74) then smacked a maiden half-century in his third IPL game to help rescue the innings.
Verma hit six towering sixes, and another five fours, as he raced to 50 off 34 balls. In doing so, he put on 77 off 42 balls with Heinrich Klaasen, who scored 32 off 19 balls including two sixes.
Their fifth-wicket stand helped Hyderabad cross 100, and Verma’s assault almost pushed Delhi onto the back foot. But Klaasen miss-hit and was caught in the 11th over to balance the scales again.
Kuldeep Yadav picked up 3-22 in four overs as Hyderabad’s tail failed to wag with six wickets lost for 49 runs in the space of 47 balls to finish with an under-par total.
In reply, du Plessis and Fraser-McGurk set the opening pace for Delhi. Debutant spinner Zeeshan Ansari struck thrice to peg Delhi back, including removing both set openers in the space of six balls hallway through.
But it wasn’t enough as Abhishek Porel smacked 34 not out off 18 balls including two sixes, while Lokesh Rahul – in his maiden outing for the Capitals – also hit 15 off 5 balls.
Ansari bowled Rahul for his third wicket, even as Tristan Stubbs rounded off the game with 21 not out off 14 balls. He put on 51 off 28 balls with Porel as Delhi won with 24 balls remaining.
It was Hyderabad’s second loss in three games, while Delhi built on its surprise win over Lucknow SuperGiants in the first game.
Hasaranga highlights Chennai’s spin woes
Sri Lanka wrist spinner Wanindu Hasaranga took 4-35 for Rajasthan, while Sandeep Sharma defended 20 off the last over.
Chennai’s chase faltered as Jofra Archer (1-13 in three overs) had opener Rachin Ravindra caught for a four-ball duck. Gaikwad made good on his form with a second half-century this season – 50 off 37 balls.
Rahul Tripathi (23) and Shivam Dube (18) chipped in with cameos, but Hasaranga struck at regular intervals to peg Chennai back at every opportunity.
He also provided the turning point – Gaikwad was caught off Hasaranga in the 16th over after hitting a six. Ravindra Jadeja scored 32 not out off 22 balls, adding 35 off 20 with MS Dhoni (16), but the finish line proved too far.
Earlier, Rajasthan struggled to get going after it was put into bat. Yashasvi Jaiswal (4) failed to impress again and Sanju Samson was caught for 20.
Chennai made inroads at one end, while Rana held the other together. Stand-in skipper Riyan Parag scored 37 off 28 balls before he was bowled by Matheesha Pathirana (2-28).
Rana meanwhile scored 50 off 21 balls, including three sixes, and then hit another two sixes. He also hit 10 fours and kept Rajasthan’s scoring rate up.
His crucial half-century helped the Royals reach a par score, which its bowlers were able to defend successfully.
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