SRH loses to DC by seven runs in a low-scoring contest

HYDERABAD: A gritty show by Delhi Capitals helped it turn the tables on Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven runs in a low-scoring contest in the IPL here on Monday. Set to chase a modest 145, Hyderabad made a meal of its chase being restricted to 137 for six. Despite this win, Delhi continues to remain at the bottom of the table with four points, while Hyderabad occupies one rung above it with the same number of points.

Harry Brook fell cheaply for seven but his partner Mayank Agarwal scored 49 (39b, 7x4) and once he was dismissed in the 12th over, the Hyderabad innings unravelled. Credit should be given to the two Delhi left-arm spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel who gave away just 43 runs from their combined 8 overs and collected three wickets.

Earlier, Washington Sundar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar shared five wickets between them to expose Delhi’s batting frailties as Hyderabad restricted the visitor to 144 for nine.

Off-spin allrounder Sundar (4-0-28-3) ended his six-match wicketless run in style to take three wickets in five balls to break the back of Delhi Capitals’ batting line-up after it opted to bat.

Then Bhuvneshwar came up with a parsimonious spell of 4-0-11-2, which included the key wickets of Phil Salt (0) and Akshar Patel (34) to rattle Delhi further.

Delhi Capitals slipped from 57 for 2 to 62 for 5 after the powerplay, and had its backs firmly pressed against the wall.

Axar Patel (34) and Manish Pandey (34) saved some blushes for the misfiring side.

The association between Pandey and Patel began in the ninth over after Delhi Capitals was left tottering by Sundar.

The two Indian batters took time to find their feet, which meant that Delhi Capitals had to bat out a few overs before it could attack again.

The pair did well to add 69 runs for the sixth wicket from 59 balls as their partnership took Delhi Capitals past the 100-run mark and prevented a total collapse.

Patel hit a run-a-ball 34 with four hits to the fence while Pandey was run out following a brilliant throw from deep midwicket by Sundar soon after, for a 27-ball 34 (2x4s).

If the poor show by the specialist batters underlined Delhi’s hapless state once again, a couple of run outs in the back end made it even more embarrassing.

The tone was set earlier by Bhuvaneshwar who struck on the third delivery to get Salt caught behind by Heinrich Klaasen and kept David Warner silent for the majority of his opening spell.

The Delhi captain, who broke the shackles to get a four and a six off Sundar in the fourth over, perished right after the powerplay with the spin bowling all-rounder running through the middle-order in the eighth over.

It was certainly not a memorable return to Hyderabad for Warner, who perished for a 20-ball 21, caught at deep square leg by Harry Brook on the second ball while trying to sweep.

Brief scores: Delhi Capitals 144/9 in 20 overs (W Sundar 3/28) bt Sunrisers Hyderabad 137/6 in 20 overs (M Agarwal 49)