Quick guide:
Delhi Capitals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
The 33rd match of IPL 2021 pitted high flying Delhi Capitals (DC) against struggling Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Delhi Capitals were aiming to be back on the top of the points table while Sunrisers Hyderabad were hoping to put behind their nightmarish run.
Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson, won the toss and opted to bat first. There were two notable comebacks in either team. David Warner returned to SRH’s playing XI after he lost captaincy and his spot in the team earlier in the season. A recovered Shreyas Iyer was back in DC’s fold after having missed the first half of the league due to a shoulder injury. As we shall read below, the two returning players had contrasting fates in the match.
Quick Summary
David Warner marched out to open the innings with Wriddhiman Saha. But Warner’s return lasted only three balls as he was dismissed on a duck by DC’s South African speedster Anrich Nortje. With a batter of Warner’s stature back in the pavilion, SRH were pushed on the backfoot. It took up until the first delivery of the fourth over, for SRH to get their first six of the innings.
The maximum came from the bat of Wriddhiman Saha off the bowling of Kagiso Rabada. Four balls later, Rabada got his revenge as he got Saha caught at midwicket by Shikhar Dhawan.
There is something about Rabada and Nortje bowling in tandem in the UAE. Remember last season? With openers back in the hut, SRH slowed down and could muster only 32 runs for the loss of 2 wickets in the powerplay overs. SRH were desperate for a big over and the over soon arrived.
Marcus Stoinis could deliver only one ball on the ninth over before he left the field due to calf issue. Leg spinner R Ashwin was called by Rishabh Pant to complete the over. Ashwin looked a bit out of sorts as he bowled one wide, one no-ball and was hit for two fours in next five deliveries. But SRH’s upward trajectory did not last long as Axar Patel got the prize scalp of Kane Williamson in the next over.
At the hallway stage of their innings, SRH were limping at 61/3. There was another jolt to SRH in the next over as Rabada removed Manish Pandey. With Pandey’s departure, SRH were left in shambles. As wickets kept tumbling at one end, young all-rounder Abdul Samad showed patience and scored 28 from 21 balls before departing in the penultimate over. Samad got good support from Rashid Khan. The Afghan cricketer was pressed in action sooner than expected and he did not disappoint. Rashid’s 22 off just 19 balls helped SRH post 134/9.
With just 135 runs needed to win, out walked Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw, to open the innings for DC. The two openers made their intent clear early in the chase. Shikhar Dhawan punished Bhuvneshwar Kumar for two fours in the second over. This was followed by Prithvi Shaw hammering Khaleel Ahmed for two fours in the next over. But Shaw played one shot too many and handed a catch to Kane Williamson on the fifth delivery of the third over.
Shaw’s departure brought Shreyas Iyer to the middle. There were apprehensions on Shreyas Iyer’s return but the middle order batter proved once again why he is such a class act! With help of singles, twos and occasional boundaries, Shreyas Iyer started to build his innings.
Meanwhile Shikhar Dhawan continued his attacking ways and did not let SRH bowlers settle. The Dhawan-Iyer partnership was only broken in the 11th over when Dhawan attempted to slog Rashid out of the park but only to be caught just at the boundary rope by Abdul Samad.
At 73/2, DC needed further 72 runs from 54 balls when skipper Rishabh Pant walked out to bat. Pant and Iyer ensured that there is no further damage and the left-right batting pair steered their side home in the 18th over.
The winning run coming from the bat of Iyer as he cracked a delivery from Jason Holder over long-on for a huge six! The six felt like a statement from Iyer that he is back at the top of his game. Iyer scored an unbeaten 47 from 41 balls and Pant remained unconquered on 35 from 21 deliveries.
WATCH : DC vs SRH highlights
Key Take-aways
Your comebacks are remembered:
All the talks before the game were around David Warner and Shreyas Iyer. The two batters were making a comeback in their respective playing XIs.
After an endearing a horrible first half of the tournament with the bat and as a captain, David Warner was removed from the leadership role. Such was the dramatic drop in Warner’s form that he soon lost his spot even as batter.
Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of IPL 2021 after he sustained a shoulder injury while fielding against England in a while-ball match. DC’s captaincy was handed over to Rishabh Pant as Iyer was sidelined. Iyer’s entire IPL 2021 could have been wiped out had the league not got disrupted. Iyer made the best use of the time in hand and returned to DC’s squad match-fit.
The two returning players had contrasting fates in the match. While Warner was dismissed on a duck, Iyer scored a steady 47.
While this match may not have produced a thrilling knock, or a last ball finish, for the IPL fans to recall it a few years down the line, it could be taken as a lesson on how the two players fashioned their comebacks.
We may not always have a milestone worthy comeback but being able to make one is what counts more in the journey. Efforts if persistent, will yield stronger and more positive results in life!
~Prakhar Sachdeo (Guest Author)
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Great read!