Prithvi Shaw, Rishab Pant take Delhi Capitals closer to IPL title

Call it the exuberance of youth if you will but Prithvi Shaw and Rishab Pant played fearless innings to see Delhi Capitals win their first match in the playoffs in IPL history. Perhaps Sunrisers Hyderabad had overdrawn on their quota of luck when Mumbai Indians defeated Kolkata Knight Riders to enable them to enter the playoffs but it was the eighteenth over of the Capitals inning when Basil Thampi conceded 22 runs, mostly to Rishab Pant, that the game tilted in Delhi’s favour. Nevertheless, Delhi Capitals have set up an interesting clash with Chennai Super Kings for the second qualifier on Friday.


Delhi Capitals players celebrate their win Source

Wridhman Saha survived a leg before appeal off the first ball of the Sunrisers inning courtesy of a review. Although he could not capitalise on it, falling to Ishant Sharma, Martin Guptill (36 off 19 balls) had decided to go after the bowling on a tacky wicket where scoring runs would become difficult as the ball became older. He saw his team put up 54 runs at the end of the power play but was out soon after trying to sweep slog Amit Mishra. Mandeep Pandey and Kane Williamson found the going difficult putting together 34 runs off 42 balls for the third wicket.

Amit Mishra and Axar Patel did well to hold the Sunrisers batsmen in check and Pandey (30 from 36 balls) were eventually deceived by a slower ball by Kemo Paul to be caught at long-on. Ishant Sharma returned to york Kane Williamson (28 off 27 balls) in the sixteenth over to render Hyderabad 111 for 4 wickets. Mohammed Nabi and Vijay Shankar then scored a rapid 36 off 15 balls to raise the Sunrisers scoring rate to 8 an over. After Vijay Shanker (25 0ff 11 balls) was out, Hyderabad limped to 162 for 8 wickets losing three wickets off successive balls in the last over.


Prithvi Shaw gave Delhi Capitals a good start Source

Prithvi Shaw has been dismissed 10 times this IPL season within the playoffs. But the lad stuck to his task which was to score as many runs during the playoffs and give Delhi Capitals a good start to the chase. He first dispatched Khaleel Ahmed for three boundaries in one over before hitting Bhuvaneshwar Kumar for two boundaries with a six in between. Sunrisers were 55 for no loss at the end of power play with a subdued Shikhar Dhawan on 15 runs. Dhawan was stumped by Wriddhiman Saha when he stepped out to Deepak Hooda and failed to connect.

Delhi was also bogged in the five overs following the power play in which they added just 32 runs and lost Prithvi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer in the same over to Khaleel Ahmed besides earlier losing Dhawan. Prithvi Shaw had scored a brilliant 56 runs off 38 balls. Rishab Pant was also to lose two partners in the fifteenth over when Rashid Khan got Colin Munro leg before and had Axar Patel caught by Saha. At the end of the fifteenth over Capitals needed 52 runs from 30 balls to clinch the match. Two overs and two sixes later the equation came to 34 runs off 18 balls.


Rishab Pant scored 49 runs off 21 balls taking Delhi closer to a win Source

It was then that Kane Williamson threw the ball to Basil Thampi with Rishab Pant taking the strike. The young Delhi keeper pounded the first four balls for two boundaries and two sixes. With 22 runs coming off the over Delhi Capitals suddenly needed a run a ball off 12. But Bhuvaneshwar Kumar intervened to get both Rutherford and Rishab Pant (49 off 21 balls)in the penultimate over. On the fourth ball of the last over Amit Mishra was given out for obstructing the field and Delhi Capitals needed two runs from two balls with two wickets in hand. Kemo Paul, however, played a ball just out of Vijay Shankar’s reach at midwicket and the ball reached the boundary to give Delhi Capitals the win with one ball to spare.

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