Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi played a pivotal role as SunRisers Hyderabad record a five-wicket win over hosts Delhi Capitals and register their third consecutive victory at the Feroz Shah Kotla. While in another game Mumbai Indians defeated Chennai Super Kings by 37 runs and handed Chennai their first loss of this season
For SRH, Nabi (2/21) took two wickets with the ball and also played a crucial 9-ball 17-run unbeaten knock towards the end to help Sunrisers keep their winning run intact. By virtue of this win, Sunrisers have moved to the top of the eight-team standings with six points from four games. Chasing a modest 130, opener Jonny Bairstow smashed a 28-ball 48 to set the foundation but SunRisers lost five wickets for 48 runs to slip to 111 for five by the end of the 16th over.
Nabi and Yusuf Pathan (9 not out) then held their nerves to take Sunrisers home, scoring 131 for five in 18.3 overs. The win took Sunrisers’ overall head-to-head record against Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium to 4-1.
Earlier, Sunrisers bowlers exploited the conditions well, making life difficult for the hosts, who simply failed to get going right from the start on a slow wicket. Skipper Shreyas Iyer, who made a steady 41-ball 43, tried to anchor the innings but he didn’t get support from the other end. It would have been more embarrassing for Delhi, if not for the cameos from Morris (17 off 15) and Axar Patel (23 not out off 13).
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Tied | NRR | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1.714 | 6 |
| Kings XI Punjab | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.089 | 6 |
| Chennai Super Kings | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | -0.339 | 6 |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.555 | 4 |
| Mumbai Indians | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | -0.012 | 4 |
| Delhi Capitals | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | -0.045 | 4 |
| Rajasthan Royals | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -0.312 | 2 |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | -1.602 | 0 |
In another game Mumbai Indians bowlers Lasith Malinga, Hardik Pandya and Jason Behrendorff fired in unison to restrict defending champions Chennai Super Kings to 133/8 and hand them their first loss of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 at the Wankhede Stadium
Kedar Jadhav (58 off 54, including eight boundaries and a six) and MS Dhoni (12 off 21) then anchored Chennai’s inning with a 54-run partnership. However, the skipper couldn’t stay for much time in the middle as he fell to Hardik Pandya while trying to accelerate the run-rate.
Earlier, despite a slow start, it was Hardik and Keiron Pollard’s quick-fire play, which propelled Mumbai Indians to 170/5. While most Chennai bowlers, who maintained a tight economy rate in 18 overs, went profligate in the last two overs as Pollard (17 unbeaten off 7) and Hardik (25 unbeaten off 8) hammered them all around the park to help their team post a fighting total.
Final Score: (DC) 129/8 – 131/5 (SRH)
Final Score: (MI) 170/5 – 133/8 (CSK)
This article was originally published on NDTV.com