Mohammad Nabi's 2/21, Jonny Bairstow's 48 give Sunrisers Hyderabad third consecutive win

Mohammad Nabi, once again had a sensational day at the office, bowling another fine spell getting Shikhar Dhawan (12) and Rishabh Pant (5), eventually restricting the host, Delhi Capitals for a below-par total of 129 runs. Nabi’s spell was backed by another superlative knock from Jonny Bairstow’s willow. Nabi also gave last touches to the victory scoring 17 runs off just 9 deliveries at an astonishing strike-rate of 188.89, helping his side register a five-wicket win over Delhi Capitals at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi.  

Bhuvneshwar Kumar led Sunrisers Hyderabad again, in the absence of Kane Williamson, and chose to bowl with an unchanged side against Delhi Capitals. Capitals made three changes to their XI that lost to Kings XI Punjab three days ago.

The hosts picked a spin-heavy side - three in all - by bringing in Axar Patel and Rahul Tewatia on a pitch their captain Shreyas Iyer said would turn in the second innings. Ishant Sharma also came in as they left out Avesh Khan, Hanuma Vihari and Harshal Patel.

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Prithvi Shaw started off confidently with two fours in the very first over but couldn’t capitalize on the start. He failed to read the slower delivery, the traditional off-cutter and played an ugly swipe across the line, only to see off stump moving. His counterpart, Shikhar Dhawan too followed him and at the end of the powerplay, Capitals were 36 runs for the loss of both their openers.

Scoring six runs per over, Sunrisers Hyderabad was able to maintain the pressure on Delhi’s batsmen. Bhuvneshwar Kumar assessed the conditions well and asked the bowlers to bowl slow on a wicket where the runs were hard to come by.

The batting was haphazard and lacked in direction, and once again Nabi was Hyderabad’s go to bowler. Teased and lulled them into doing what he wanted them to do. Struck the early blows and the rest of the bowlers were on hand to restrict Capitals. Iyer seemed to be the only Capitals’ batsman to have figured the pitch out but just when he was looking solid, he threw his wicket away. Post this, Axar Patel’s power-hitting in the final over helped Delhi Capitals to finish with 129 runs on board.

In response, Sunrisers Hyderabad was off to a blistering start with Jonny Bairstow and David Warner hammering the opposition bowlers all-around the ground. The duo made good use of powerplay as they were able to score boundaries on every other occasion and finished the first six overs for 62, with the former doing bulk of the scoring.

With just 68 more needed in 14 overs, it looked that the orange army will end with five-six overs to spare. However, Delhi Capitals picked wickets in pair, which eventually kept them in the game. But they had a little run to defend and had to pay for it. In the end, Nabi, who isn’t doing anything wrong at the moment finished the game for his side with a six over point fielder to help Hyderabad reach the top of the table. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• Sunrisers Hyderabad registered their third consecutive win of the season. 
• Delhi Capitals has lost both the home games of IPL 2019.
• Jonny Bairstow was awarded as the man-of-the-match.