VISAKHAPATNAM(Andhra Pradesh): Faf du Plessis’s fiery fifty and Mitchell Starc’s scorching five-wicket haul assisted Delhi Capitals in silencing Sunrisers Hyderabad with a seven-wicket victory on Sunday in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
In pursuit of 164, Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser McGurk adopted a cautious approach in the first over, negating the threat posed by Mohammed Shami.
McGurk broke the shackles and dispatched the ball with a slog sweep over long-on for a maximum of Abhishek Sharma in the second over.
DC had sniffed blood, and the explosive duo set out on a hunt of the Sunrisers’ bowling unit to make the most out of the powerplay.
Faf took the brunt of clobbering Shami for runs and thrived with his textbook perfect stroke play. The seasoned South African clubbed the first ball of the third over for a six. He topped it up with two boundaries on the trot to take 15 runs from the over.
The onslaught continued to come in patches as DC garnered 52 runs from the powerplay. Faf didn’t drop the tempo and hammered Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins for a six and a four right after the powerplay.
Faf (50) sprinted for a single and celebrated his fifty, only to lose his wicket moments later in the next over to Zeeshan Ansari. Despite losing a wicket against the run of play, McGurk hammered a barrage of boundaries to end the over on a high note.
After misreading Ansari’s googly, he found his first boundary with an inside edge, a delivery after Faf’s dismissal. On the next ball, he carved it through the backward point to find the boundary rope. He followed it up by smoking the ball past the boundary rope over long-off.
However, on the final delivery of the over, Ansari had the last laugh by tricking the Australian to chip the ball back into his hands. McGurk’s rusty cameo concluded on 38(32).
KL Rahul (15) came in, flaunted his boundary-hitting muscle, and returned to the dressing room after missing his sweep, allowing the ball to kiss the bails off the stumps and handing Ansari his second scalp of the day.
Despite finding the breakthroughs in quick succession, Hyderabad was still at its wits’ end as Tristan Stubbs and Abhishek Porel pummelled the Hyderabad bowlers. With a full swing of the bat, Porel muscled the ball away for a maximum to finish things in style and lift the Capitals to a 7-wicket win.
Earlier in the match, after losing the toss, the Sunrisers found themselves in trouble early after being reduced to 37/4 before Aniket Verma (74 off 41 balls) and Heinrich Klaasen (32 off 19 balls) put up a crucial 77-run stand to steady their sinking ship.
However, Kuldeep (3/22) delivered key blows, while Starc (5/35) completed his five-wicket haul to wrap up SRH’s innings in just 18.4 overs.
After SRH won the toss and opted to bat first, they suffered an early setback when Abhishek Sharma was run out for just one in the first over by Vipraj Nigam. Starc then struck twice in the third over, dismissing Ishan Kishan (2) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (0), leaving SRH reeling at 25/3 in 2.3 overs.
Mitchell Starc continued his fine run against SRH, removing two of its explosive young guns, Ishan Kishan (2) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (0) in the third over. SRH sunk to 25/3 in 2.3 overs.
Travis Head, looking to counterattack, was bowled by Starc for 22 off 12 balls, marking the seventh time the pacer has dismissed him. With his departure, SRH was down to 37/4 in 4.1 overs.
Klaasen and Aniket took charge, with Klaasen hitting Starc for a six and a four to take SRH past the 50-run mark in 4.5 overs. By the end of the powerplay, SRH had reached 58/4, with Klaasen (11 *) and Aniket (6 *) at the crease.
The duo accelerated, bringing up their 50-run partnership in just 22 balls, with Aniket smashing two sixes off Axar Patel. SRH crossed the 100-run mark in 9.1 overs, maintaining an aggressive run rate. At the halfway mark, they stood at 105/4, with Aniket (40 *) and Klaasen (31 *) unbeaten.
The 77-run stand between the two was over as Mohit Sharma removed Klaasen for a well-made 32 in 19 balls, with Vipraj Nigam taking a fine running catch. SRH was 114/5 in 10.5 overs. Abhinav Manohar also made a fine impact as Kuldeep Yadav removed him for four runs. SRH was 119/6 in 12 overs.
Aniket reached his maiden IPL fifty in 34 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes.
Kuldeep got his second wicket in the match as skipper Pat Cummins (2) was removed for a duck as he took the aerial route. DC was 123/7 in 14 overs.
Aniket brought down some pressure for SRH, making a meal out of Axar’s deliveries and hitting him for a four and two sixes in the 15th over.
Kuldeep picked up his third scalp as Aniket’s audacious knock was ended due to a catch by Jake Fraser McGurk near the boundary for 74 in 41 balls, with five fours and six sixes. SRH was 148/8 in 15.5 overs.
Starc got his five-wicket haul as he removed Harshal Patel (5) and Wiaan Mulder in quick succession. SRH was 163/10 in 18.4 overs.
Starc (5/35) delivered the best bowling figures of the innings. Kuldeep picked 3/22 in four overs, while Mohit got 1/25 in three overs. (ANI)
