After a rollicking start with two wins, Delhi Capitals have lost their first points in IPL 2020. The Capitals fell 17 runs short during their chase at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Speaking after their first defeat, Shreyas Iyer credited Hyderabad for putting out a brilliant effort and outplaying them.
While the total looked quite chasable in the halfway stage, the wicket made it harder well aided by Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers, who hit the right areas. Bhuvneshwar Kumar provided the first impetus removing Prithvi Shaw before Rashid Khan ruled the show.
He finished with three for 14 to push Delhi Capitals out of the game. He wickets included Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, and Rishabh Pant.
Delhi Capitals lose their first points
Shikhar Dhawan never looked in the right touch along with Rishabh Pant, who looked completely out of his socks. The wicket-keeper batsman scored 28 off 27 deliveries before holing out to deep square leg. T Natarajan also starred with the ball hitting the yorker length at regular intervals.
Batting first, openers David Warner and Jonny Bairstow game Sunrisers Hyderabad a solid start. They read the wicket well and took calculative risks to keep the scoreboard ticking. The pair added 77 runs for the first wicket before Warner departed after a well made 45.
Seeking an opportunity, Delhi Capitals chipped in with another wicket of in-form Manish Pandey. But Kane Williamson, who is playing his first game of IPL 2020 steadied the ship. He combined well with Bairstow to add 52 runs as Hyderabad eyed a challenging score.
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Credit to Sunrisers Hyderabad – Shreyas Iyer
Bairstow (55) and Williamson (41) helped Hyderabad to 162 runs with a little cameo from debutant Abdul Samad (12* from 7). Kagiso Rabada once again starred with the ball returning with two for 21 in four overs as he cases the Purple Cap but the batters failed to stand up to the task as Delhi Capitals lost their first game of IPL 2020.
Speaking at the end of the game, Shreyas Iyer credited Hyderabad. He also admitted that they read the pitch wrong and chose to bowl first. However, Iyer vouched to come back strong when they play next in Abu Dhabi.
“I think we were happy with 160 to chase. It was a par score. They knew the pitch better than us. They outplayed us, credit to them. It was really surprising that it played two-paced in the second innings. We thought dew would play a massive role and the ball would come on well, but yeah we can’t give excuses at this time.
We didn’t capitalise on the ground dimension and take doubles. We will make sure we do when we play here next,” Shreyas Iyer said.