Indian Premier League 2020: Emphatic SunRisers Hyderabad thrash Delhi Capitals by 88 runs, stay alive in tournament

Delhi Capitals fell to a third consecutive defeat and spurned the chance to book their place in the playoffs tonight itself with a poor performance.

Image credits: Twitter/@IPL

A phenomenal all-round performance saw SunRisers Hyderabad brush aside Delhi Capitals by 88 runs on Tuesday (October 27) at the Dubai International Stadium. SunRisers, thus, stayed alive in the competition. The Capitals, on the other hand, failed to book their place in the playoffs tonight itself after the huge defeat.

Shreyas Iyer had won the toss and opted to bowl first. David Warner (66 off 34 balls) and Wriddhiman Saha (87 off 45 balls) – playing his first game of this edition, had other ideas and Iyer was left to rue his decision.

Warner, playing on his 34th birthday, took apart the Capitals bowling right from the onset with some very aggressive batting.  Warner became the first player in IPL 2020 to bring up his fifty in the powerplay itself, reaching the mark in just 25 balls.

Saha too launched the fireworks from the other end and SRH finished the powerplay at 77/0 – the highest powerplay score of IPL 2020. No bowler had any answers and even Purple Cap holder Kagiso Rabada was taken to the cleaners, Warner hitting the reputed South African for 22 runs in his second over.

Ravichandran Ashwin finally broke the partnership in the 10th with the duo having completed a majestic 107-run opening partnership which set the tone for their eventual victory. Saha continued his onslaught after Warner’s departure and gave no respite to the opposition. He relied on pure timing and placement. He was unfortunate to lose out on a well deserved ton, getting out to Anrich Nortje for 87.

Manish Pandey (44 off 32 balls) played a fine hand and took his side to a mammoth 219/2.

Chasing a huge 220 to win, Delhi Capitals got off to the worst possible start. They lost their in-form opener Shikhar Dhawan for a first ball duck against Sandeep Sharma.

Marcus Stoinis followed him soon to the pavilion when he hit one straight to the fielder against Shahbaz Nadeem. 

There was a common thread in the two dismissals. It was Warner who took both those catches and continued with his birthday celebrations. 

Then it was the turn of Rashid Khan. With the match already in SRH's grasp, Rashid Khan showcased his magic with his very first ball. Rashid removed Hetmyer, clipping his stumps with a well-placed delivery.

On the final ball off the same over, Rashid sent the well-set Rahane  (26 off 19 balls) packing with an lbw dismissal. Rahane was completely outfoxed by Rashid's wrong one and was trapped plumb in-front.

Rashid had another one when he removed Axar Patel, who tried to castle him over long-on and finished with figures of 4-0-7-3 which are the most economical figures of the tournament so far. He bettered Mohammed Siraj, who had finished with a spell of 4-2-8-3.

With the writing already on the wall, Sandeep Sharma removed Rishabh Pant (36 off 35 balls) to land the final nail in the coffin and SunRisers wrapped-up a crucial victory.

The Capitals lost their third consecutive game and have slipped away to the third position in the points table.

Wriddhiman Saha was crowned the ‘Man of the Match’ for his thrilling knock.