IPL 2021, DC vs SRH: Who won yesterday's match?

Delhi Capitals (DC) resumed their domination in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021), hammering an inefficient Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by eight wickets in match 33 in Dubai.

Kagiso Rabada (3/37), Anrich Nortje (2/12) and Axar Patel (2/21) combined to restrict SRH to 134/9, bowling first after losing the toss. Shikhar Dhawan (42), Shreyas Iyer (47 not out) and Rishabh Pant (35 not out) then combined to ease DC home in 17.5 overs.

Shikhar Dhawan got DC’s chase off to an impressive start, crunching Bhuvneshwar Kumar for two fours in the second over. At the other end, Prithvi Shaw also swung into action, smacking Khaleel Ahmed for a four to deep midwicket and top-edging a pull for another boundary.

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Ahmed had his revenge, though, when Shaw dragged a slog and was well caught by Kane Williamson, running back from mid-on. The DC opener was back in the hut for 11. Dhawan then slog-swept Rashid Khan for a six as DC ended the powerplay on a sedate 39 for 1.

Shreyas Iyer also dispatched Rashid for a six over cow corner. DC were cruising in their chase as Dhawan picked Sandeep Sharma for consecutive fours - one swept behind square and the other lofted over cover.

During his innings, Dhawan crossed 400-plus runs for the sixth IPL season in a row. Only Suresh Raina and David Warner have had longer streaks (7). However, the DC left-hander fell for 42, swiping across the line to Rashid Khan and giving a catch to deep square leg.

Iyer and the man who had replaced him as DC captain at the start of the season, Rishabh Pant, guided the team towards victory with ease. The former crunched consecutive boundaries off Sandeep Sharma in the 14th over. A short delivery was then pulled to deep midwicket, while a full ball was flicked in the same region.

Pant, who lost his bat trying to hit Rashid Khan, slapped Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a six over deep square leg. He then followed that up with two cracking big hits off Khaleel Ahmed as DC marched towards victory. The chasing side got home in style in the 18th over as Iyer slammed Jason Holder for a maximum over long-on.

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Clinical DC restrict SRH to 134 for 9

Kagiso Rabada celebrates a wicket with his DC teammates. Pic: IPLT20.COM

SRH’s woes with the bat continued, as they posted a disappointing 134 for 9 after winning the toss. Abdul Samad (28 off 21) and Rashid Khan (22 off 19) were the only batters to cross the 20-run mark as DC’s bowlers dominated proceedings.

Opener David Warner (0)'s poor run continued as he got a leading edge off Anrich Nortje (2/12), popping a simple catch to point. Wriddhiman Saha (18 off 17) played a few handsome strokes before mistiming a pull off Kagiso Rabada (3/37) towards midwicket.

SRH captain Kane Williamson played a bizarre knock, though. He was dropped twice in quick succession, but could not make DC pay as he perished soon thereafter.

Ravichandran Ashwin, who came into bowl after Marcus Stoinis pulled up in his second over, was the unlucky bowler when Williamson was dropped for the first time. He induced an edge off a carrom ball. but Rishabh Pant also misjudged the catch.

Williamson, who was on 16 when he got his first life, then chipped Axar Patel (2/21) to Prithvi Shaw at extra cover in the next over, only for the fielder to spill the chance. The SRH captain's luck ran out the next ball, though, when he charged down the ground. but hit straight to long-off.

There was no momentum to SRH’s innings at all. After crawling to 61 for 3 at the halfway stage, they lost Manish Pandey (17) at the start of the 11th over when he ballooned a simple caught and bowled to Rabada. The bowler had dismissed Saha with the last ball of his previous spell and was on a hat-trick.

SRH had to play Kedar Jadhav (3), with Vijay Shankar in isolation. The batter failed again, though, trapped in front by Nortje with one that angled in sharply. Jason Holder (10) and Samad threw their bats around, but did not last long. Rashid Khan then swung Rabada for a six over third man and a four over the keeper in the penultimate over to gather some handy runs for SRH.

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IPL 2021 DC vs SRH: Who was the Man of the Match?

DC’s bowlers were excellent on the day. Nortje picked up Warner and Jadhav, while Rabada took three scalps. He got the key wickets of Saha and Pandey to restrict SRH.

Left-arm spinner Axar Patel was economical, getting the big scalp of Williamson. He also dismissed dangerman Holder. For DC, Dhawan, Iyer and Pant all made impressive contributions.

Nortje was eventually named the Man of the Match for his wonderful bowling spell of 2 for 12.