David Warner (92 not out) and Rovman Powell (67 not out) set the tone with an unbeaten 122-run partnership and Khaleel Ahmed followed it up with a 3/30 haul as Delhi Capitals defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 21 runs in Match 50 of the IPL 2022 at the Brabourne Stadium here on Thursday. Warner and Powell propelled Delhi Capitals from 95/3 to 207/3 in 20 overs, batting in contrasting styles. Warner showed sublime touch and superb placement as he found gaps with the precision of a neurosurgeon to score 92 not out off 58 deliveries, hitting 12 fours and three sixes. Powell was all power as he hammered 67 not out off 35 deliveries, hitting three fours six sixes. They added 122 runs for the fourth wicket partnership off 66 balls as Delhi Capitals posted a huge score. In reply, Nicholas Pooran struck a half-century and Aiden Markram blazed to a 25-ball 42 but their efforts went in vain against a big score as they ended with 186/8 in 20 overs. Chasing a huge target of 208, Pooran struck 62 off 34 balls, 4x2, 6x6, while Markram scored a brisk cameo but in the end, their efforts were not enough as Sunrisers Hyderabad could manage only 188/8 in 20 overs. Sunrisers Hyderabad got off to a poor start as they lost Abhishek Sharma (7) in the second over with the score of 8 runs as he struck a half-volley on his pads down the throat of the fielder at short fine-leg.
They were soon down to 37/3 with skipper Kane Williamson (4), who edged behind off Anrich Nortje, and Rahul Tripathy (22) wasted his start by picking out deep backward square with a short-arm jab off Mitchell Marsh. Pooran and Markram came together to raise 60 runs for the fourth wicket, both hitting some aggressive shots as they resurrected the innings. But Markram was out while trying to hit another big one and was caught by Kuldeep Yadav off Khaleel Ahmed as SRH fell to 97/4 in the 13th over. Pooran tried to take the battle to Delhi Capitals as he completed his half-century off 29 balls. SRH continued to lose wickets at the other end as Shashank Singh (10) and Sean Abbott (7) departed, leading Pooran to continue waging the lone battle. He was the seventh batsman to get out, caught by Powell off Shardul Thakur. miscuing a waist-high full toss and sending it straight to long-on, as the run rate continued to mount. Khaleel Ahmed was the most successful Delhi Capitals bowler with 3/30 off four overs while Shardul Thakur ended with 2/44. The win took Delhi Capitals to 10 points from 10 matches and maintained their hopes of making it to the playoffs as they trail Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore (both with 12 points) at fifth spot. SRH are at sixth spot with 10 points but an inferior net run rate. Warner played like he had a few scores to settle against his former team that had unceremoniously dumped him after removing him as captain midway through the 2021 season. He played some brilliant shots and blasted 12 fours and three sixes in his 58-ball unbeaten 92. He shared a 48-run partnership with skipper Rishabh Pant, who scored a 16-ball 26 majority of those runs coming one over of Kartik Tyagi in which he scored three fours and one six before dragging the ball onto his stumps off the last delivery of that over. Warner, however, continued to torment Sunrisers as he completed his half-century off 34 balls, with a four off Kartik Tyagi.
He thrived on the bowling, chose the balls well, and found the gaps to score 12 boundaries. It was a superb display of controlled aggression. He hammered Umran Malik for two successive fours and a superb six in the fourth over, the over costing Sunrisers 21 runs as the J&K bowler did not help his cause by bowling a couple of wides, one of which beat the keeper to the boundary. He smashed Aiden Markram for a six the 400th for Warner in all T20 matches, planting his front foot down and launching the ball over long-on. He also struck Tyagi for fours off successive deliveries in the sixth over the second one a brilliant off-drive on a delivery bowled full and outside off. He also struck Tyagi for fours off successive deliveries in the sixth over the second one a brilliant off-drive on a delivery bowled full and outside off. While Warner was looking for gaps and placing his shots well, Powell was not bothered about such niceties. He dealt with power and power alone as he blazed to 67 off just 35 deliveries. He struck Shreyas Gopal for a six in his second over and then hammered Abbott for sixes off successive balls in the 17th over. He blasted Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kartik Tyagi for a six each and then struck Umran Malik for three fours in a row after a six off the first delivery of the 20th over. Malik was carted around by both Warner and Powell as he conceded 52 runs in his four overs while Shreyas Gopal was blasted for 37 off three. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the best Sunrisers bowler on Thursday as he finished with 1/25 off four overs.
Brief scores: Delhi Capitals 207/3 in 20 overs (David Warner 92 not out, Rishabh Pant 26, Rovman Powell 67 not out; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 1/25) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 186/8 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 62, Aiden Markram 42, Rahul Tripathi 22; Khaleel Ahmed 3/30, Shardul Thakur 2/44).