IPL 2023: Delhi Capitals make it two in a row; tame SunRisers Hyderabad by 7 runs

It was a spirited yet bold performance by Delhi Capitals (DC) to tame former champion SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) by seven runs in Match 34 of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on Monday. The hosts made it two in a row for the first time this season in as many victories. However, it still has a long way to go, as it remains at the bottom of the table.

Winning the coin toss, DC opted to bat, as it began on a nervous note again, losing a couple for 39 by the fifth over of the PowerPlay (PP). It was quickly down to 62/5 by the eighth before Manish Pandey (34) and Axar Patel (34) added 69 for the third wicket. In the 18th, the latter was cleaned up by senior seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, followed by the former, three runs later, at 134, in the 19th off an unfortunate run out.

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The incoming batters could have done a better job, while DC posted a meagre total of 144/9. For SRH, off-spinner Washington Sundar clasped three, whereas Bhuvneshwar was astonishingly economical. While SRH brought Rahul Tripathi for pacer T Natarajan as the Impact Player (IP), pacer Mukesh Kumar replaced Sarfaraz Khan for DC.

The hosts' openers, Harry Brook (7) and Mayank Agarwal (49) added 31 before pacer Anrich Nortje knocked over the former in the sixth over of the PP. Then, the latter and Tripathi (15) came up with 38 more for the second wicket before Mayank fell one short of his 13th IPL half-century to leg-spinner Axar in the 12th.

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Eventually, the Sunrisers were down to 85/5 by the 15th, while Heinrich Klaasen (31) and Washington Sundar (24*) added 41 for the sixth wicket to keep them in the chase. While Nortje dismissed the former in the 19th, some brilliant bowling by Mukesh in the final over allowed 13 runs to be defended, as the Capitals got the job done by seven runs. Nortje and Axar claimed a couple each for the visitors, whereas the latter was economical.