DC’s triumphant win: In what was already written as a foregone conclusion, Delhi Capitals tormented Sunrisers Hyderabad to cement their way to the top with an emphatic victory.
Even before the game started, things started to go into a spiral for the Sunrisers as their primary pacer, T Natarajan tested positive for the virus and he was immediately isolated along with his six close contacts that included the likes of all-rounder Vijay Shankar.
The Orange Army, still reeling from the shock could barely impose themselves upon the match as they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and Delhi had a canter.
Nortje, was once again at his peak as he was breathing fire with his bullets that saw Sunrisers carved inside out. It was the South African express bowler that claimed the big wicket of David Warner to open the floodgates.
Kagiso Rabada got back to his sizzling self as he claimed the big wicket of Saha who initially showed signs of promise. The captain couldn’t last long either as Axar Patel got the better of him. Post that it was a mere formality as the Sunrisers could barely keep themselves in a piece.
Abdul Samad was the pick of the lot with 28 runs from 22 balls while cameos from Jason Holder and Rashid Khan upheld the basic fight that was posted by the Sunrisers.
The Delhi batters hardly felt any challenge at all as they comfortably cruised to the set total with eight wickets to spare. Prithvi Shaw departed early but that did nothing at all to dampen the spirits of the table toppers.
Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer stitched together a breezy partnership to sail Delhi to the shores of safety. A late blitzkrieg from Rishabh Pant brought out the entertainment for the fans.
In this story, we will take a quick look at two great decisions by Pant that led to Delhi’s comfortable victory.
#1 Kept the pressure throughout the batting of Sunrisers
Pant didn’t allow any breathing room for the Sunrisers throughout their batting. He was persistent in attacking the batters with the best he had and he perfectly shuffled the bowling between Rabada, Nortje and Axar Patel to dismantle the Orange Army. It never felt like that the Sunrisers could break free even for a second and the run-rate that they ended up with is a burning ode to the pressure that Pan could pin on them.
#2 The late acceleration
This isn’t really a decision that led to their victory but Pant’s entry in the number four position ensured the fact that they are garnering enough room to get their net run rate up. They didn’t really want the match to go to the last over and that is where the explosives started taking shape. He whacked three fours and two sixes to put an end to the life force of the Sunrisers. It also acted as a bare minimum entertainment in an otherwise uneventful match.
