XtraTime Web Desk – The Qualifier 2 of this season’s Indian Premier League saw a fierce battle between Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Delhi Capitals had a dream start batting first. After dropping Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan came out to bat with his new partner in form of Marcus Stoinis. Capitals were in a huge pressure as they came to this match after failing miserably against Mumbai Indians. However, the openers didn’t disappoint. After the powerplay, Capitals had 65 runs. Stoinis lost his wicket at 38 from 27 balls. After that, Dhawan and Hetmyer took the game into another level. Shikhar Dhawan scored 78 of 50 balls while the Caribbean scored 42 of 22 deliveries. With their blistering innings, Delhi reached to a total of 189 runs after 20 overs. Without any doubt, this was a huge target for Sunrisers to chase.
Sunrisers Hyderabad had a poor start but Manish Pandey and Priyam Garg tried to solidify their partnership but unfortunately couldn’t do so. Manish Pandey lost his wicket at 21 while Priyam Garg at 17. However, that wasn’t the end for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Kane Williamson gave them a hope of winning the match but lost his wicket in a crucial stage. Kane scored 67 of 45 balls while Abdul Samad contributed 33 of 16 deliveries. Kagiso Rabada took 4 wickets for 29 runs and is now the purple cap holder. Just like with bat, Marcus Stoinis delivered with the ball as well. In his 3 overs, Marcus gave away 26 runs and took 3 important wickets of Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey and Priyam Garg. Sunrisers finished on 172 runs and Delhi Capitals won the match by 17 runs.
After his superb performance both with bat and bowl, Marcus Stoinis was undoubtedly elected as the Man of the Match. Speaking about his new role, Stoinis said, “Have done it in the BBL for a couple of seasons so it was nice to get an opportunity. Never know what it’s going to be like early. There was swing early on. So had a bit of a look at it before having a crack”.
Speaking about the final against Mumbai Indians, Stoinis said, “MI are a very good team. Have played consistently. But they’re due an off game. Our best cricket should be good enough to win”.
The winning captain, Shreyas Iyer in the post match conference said, “Best feeling ever. Journey has been a rollercoaster. End of the day we stuck together as a family. Very happy with the effort every individual has put in”.
Speaking about their new opening pair, Iyer said, “We were lacking with the opening partnership. Needed a rocket start, We thought if he goes and plays maximum deliveries he can give us a good start”.
In the post match conference, the losing captain said, “First and foremost, no one gave us a chance at the start. Mumbai has a great team, Delhi as well, and RCB, but I’m proud to be where we are today”.
David Warner also spoke about the positives of this year’s IPL. He said, “Natarajan is a find of this IPL, and he’s been outstanding. Rashid has been amazing, and so has Manish Pandey at No. 3. From an all-round perspective, it’s been great”.
Warner also gave a small message and thanked all the fans for their support. “The fans are so loyal, I saw that photo of a bridge being lit up today. Hyderabad is our second home, and the franchise owners are like a family. Hopefully after this we can go and play the IPL in India next year and put up a better show”.