IPL 2017: SRH vs DD, SK Turning Point, Yuvraj Singh turns the match on its head with his first over of the tournament

The Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated the Delhi Daredevils by 15 runs in match 21 of IPL 2017 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad.

Opting to bat first, rather surprisingly, after winning the toss, the SRH got off to a poor start with skipper David Warner being dismissed in just the second over of the innings for 4. His opening partner Shikhar Dhawan and New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, who was playing his first match of this season, strung together a partnership of 136 in just over 14 overs to set their team up for a mammoth score.

Some lower order hitting from Deepak Hooda and Moises Henriques took the hosts to 191 at the end of 20 overs. Chris Morris was the only successful bowler for DD as he took 4 for 26 in his four overs.

In reply, DD too lost their first wicket in the second over with Sam Billings giving debutant Mohammad Siraj his first IPL wicket. The man-in-form Sanju Samson then steered the innings in the company of Karun Nair as they added 71 for the second wicket in a little over seven overs, but their dismissals in quick succession derailed the DD innings and despite Shreyas Iyer's unbeaten fifty, they found themselves short by 15 runs in the end.

The Turning Point

DD were looking comfortable in the chase when the first of the two strategic time-outs was taken after the 9th over. The scoreboard read 80 for 1 and the two star bowlers from SRH, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan, had bowled two wicketless overs each. With the required rate around 10 and nine wickets in hand, things looked rosy for the Daredevils, but that's when the SRH skipper David Warner pulled a rabbit out of the hat.

He gave the ball to Yuvraj Singh, who hadn't bowled at all in this year's IPL. It was a move that could have backfired as Yuvraj could have been rusty with the ball, and it looked exactly that way when he bowled his first ball short and wide which was duly dispatched by Sanju Samson for a four past point.

Yuvraj Singh’s over proved to be the turning point

His second ball was on the pads which Samson turned towards deep mid-wicket and the two batsmen, Nair and Samson, made up their mind very early that they were going to try and run two. They could have made it, but a brilliant piece of out-fielding from substitute Vijay Shankar found Nair short by a few inches. He swooped onto the ball with one hand, picked it up and released it in one motion to send a flat throw to Yuvraj, who demolished the stumps at the non-striker’s end to find Karun wanting.

Extra Cover: IPL 2017: DD vs SRH, 5 mistakes Delhi Daredevils committed against Sunrisers Hyderabad

A wicket out of nowhere and SRH were back in it, but what happened next tilted the balance firmly in their favour.

Samson left the third ball alone and took a single off the fourth to bring the in-form Rishabh Pant, promoted to No. 4 tonight, on strike. Perhaps still brimming with the confidence with which he smashed Umesh Yadav for 26 in an over in DD's last match, Pant slog-swept the first ball he faced, trying to hit a six, but could only toe-end it to the SRH skipper at long-on!

The score that read 84 for 1 after 9.1 overs, became 86 for 3 after 9.5, and DD, from a position of strength, suddenly found themselves in a spot of bother.

Two wickets in an over meant they had to consolidate in the next few overs, which had an impact on the required run rate. With the RR now reading 10.5 for the remaining 10 overs, DD scored only 18 runs off the next three overs with one boundary, which meant they needed 87 off the last seven overs, at a required rate of 12.5.

This led Samson to play an uncharacteristic shot and he was dismissed in the 14th over for 42.

Angelo Mathews, coming in at 6, could never really get any rhythm, and despite some lusty blows by the talented Shreyas Iyer, who remained unbeaten on 50 off just 31 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes, DD eventually found themselves short of the target.

It was that one over – Yuvraj’s only over of the night – which turned the match completely.

Kane Williamson, for his outstanding innings of 89 off just 51 deliveries, was named the Man of the Match. This win propelled the defending champions SRH to the second spot on the points table, whereas DD remained on fourth.