Another nail-biting encounter concluded last night as the Delhi Daredevils sealed a thrilling last-ball win against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. After being asked to bat, a David Warner inspired SRH came out all-guns-blazing.
However, the middle order's failure to capitalise on the Australian’s fantastic knock saw the team bundle out for only 158 on a track that had a lot to offer to the batsmen.
The Daredevils came out to bat with great motivation but were greeted with a shock as Quinton de Kock was caught behind while trying to smash Barinder Sran out of the park. However, DD built up slowly and steadily as Karun Nair shepherded them to a brilliant last-ball win.
There were several memorable moments in the match that don't fade away, quite like the Axe Signature range of body perfumes. Here are 5 of the best:
1) Warner the warrior
If one looks carefully at the scorecard of every Hyderabad game, the only thing they will find consistent is the runs scored by David Warner. No batsmen in the Sunrisers’ roster has got even close to their captain and the game against Delhi was just another testament to that.
Scoring 73 in just 56 balls, David Warner gave his team a great start and the middle-order a perfect platform to apply the finishing touches for a high score. However, they failed him, which has been the case in many games.
The next highest score in the team was 18 that Moises Henriques. 73 and 18—a difference of 55 runs. Astounding.
2) Brathwaite can bowl
After his game-changing T20 World Cup winning knock against England, many people saw him as a batsman who could power his team to another level with his brute strength with the bat. However, what many seemed to have neglected was that he is a decent bowler who actually took 3 wickets in that very final.
In the IPL, he might not have made the impact he or his team had hoped for, but he hasn’t been a pushover either.
Against SRH, he bowled 4 overs to take 2 wickets while giving away only 27 runs in the process. His tight bowling was the main catalyst for SRH’s middle order's demise.
3) Bhuvi can bat
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has made a name for himself as a fine death over bowler as well as someone who can keep affairs tight during the powerplay overs. However, he is also a fine hitter of the ball, as we have seen in this year’s IPL.
At a time when it seemed like the Sunrisers wouldn’t be able to post a target of over 150, Bhuvneshwar showed how handy he is with the bat when he scored a 7-ball 13, taking them to a competitive and morale-boosting score of 158.
4) Mustafizur’s last over
He might not be among the wickets in the IPL—which might be a rhetorical statement given that he has 15 wickets in this tournament—but his ability to stop the flow of runs at crucial times is what makes him such a darling to the team.
Delhi Daredevils needed 16 runs off the last 12 balls. Carlos Brathwaite was the man on strike as Mustafizur charged in to bowl his second ball of the over. And a wicket. A superb catch from Barinder Sran brought down the danger man.
Over the course of the over, he gave only 5 runs. His wisdom left Bhuvi with 11 runs to defend in the final over, but it went in vain because of…
5) Karun Nair’s brilliance
If any team in this tournament has successfully seen their young Indian talents play well, it is the Daredevils. Their batting lineup is not filled with big name international stars or even Indian mega names for that matter. And yet they were able to dismantle the best bowling unit in the IPL—not once, but twice.
Chasing a tricky target of 159, Nair showed unbelievable composure and temperament as he slowly built the innings and worked his way to the target. In the last 2 balls, 6 runs were needed and he hit two boundaries in a row to finish it off in style. His individual score stood at 83 off just 59 deliveries.
