"Generally it is Washington DC but this was Washington vs DC" - Aakash Chopra on SunRisers Hyderabad's IPL 2023 loss to Delhi Capitals

Aakash Chopra has pointed out that Washington Sundar was almost like a lone warrior for the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their IPL 2023 loss against the Delhi Capitals (DC).

Sundar registered figures of 3/28 in his four overs as SRH restricted the Capitals to 144/9 after David Warner opted to bat first in Hyderabad on Monday, April 24. The spin-bowling all-rounder then scored an unbeaten 24 off 15 balls, which went in vain as the SunRisers Hyderabad lost the match by seven runs.

While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out that Washington Sundar struck three quick blows with the ball when the Delhi Capitals seemed to be in a decent position, explaining:

"It was going alright. Warner had struck one six, the first six of this tournament from his bat, and Manish Pandey was also batting okay, but then Washington Sundar picked up three wickets. Generally it is Washington DC but this was Washington vs DC and then there were two or three run-outs as well."

Speaking about the start of the Delhi Capitals innings, the former Indian opener highlighted that while Phil Salt was dismissed early, Mitchell Marsh also lost his wicket after striking a few boundaries, elaborating:

"When Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Phil Salt in the first over, it felt like someone had rubbed salt into their wounds because it is not going well and Salt had also gone out. Mitchell Marsh was playing as though batting was very easy but then he also got out."

While Salt was dismissed for a golden duck, Marsh smashed a 15-ball 25. Sundar then dismissed David Warner, Sarfaraz Khan and Aman Hakim Khan in the same over to reduce DC to 62/5.

However, Manish Pandey (34 off 27) and Axar Patel (34 off 34) then helped the visiting team reach a competitive total which proved to be enough in the end.

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"Mayank Agarwal played a decent innings" - Aakash Chopra on the SunRisers Hyderabad's chase

Mayank Agarwal top-scored for the SunRisers Hyderabad with a 39-ball 49. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Reflecting on the SunRisers Hyderabad's chase, Aakash Chopra praised Mayank Agarwal for playing a decent knock and highlighted that Harry Brook and Rahul Tripathi were found wanting, stating:

"When it was the turn to bat, Harry Brook was playing so slowly, it was amazing. They didn't make Abhishek Sharma open this time because he scored runs in the last match. Rahul Tripathi is also struggling a lot at the moment. Mayank Agarwal played a decent innings but then wickets fell."

The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by observing that the home team fell short of the target despite Heinrich Klaasen and Sundar's best efforts, saying:

"In the end, Heinrich Klaasen, twice in a row on this ground, came close to winning the game but couldn't. Washington Sundar batted beautifully. He would have been the Player of the Match if Hyderabad had won."

Klaasen (31 off 19) and Sundar added 41 runs for the sixth wicket in 4.2 overs after the SunRisers Hyderabad were precariously placed at 85/5. However, after Anrich Nortje dismissed Klaasen in the penultimate over, Mukesh Kumar bowled an excellent final over to help DC register their second win.