Former champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) came up with a dominating performance to crush Delhi Capitals (DC), in Match 47 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, in Dubai, on Tuesday. While they have risen to the sixth spot in the table, they will have to win their remaining two matches to stay in contention for the playoffs, besides relying on the teams above them, who have to lose.
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Match summary: Winning the toss, DC skipper Shreyas Iyer elected to bowl first, as the decision heavily miscarried. Courtesy David Warner-Wriddhiman Saha's 107-run opening stand, followed by Manish Pandey's unbeaten 44, SRH posted a challenging total of 2192. In reply, the DC batsmen just could not cope up with the pressure. Furthermore, Rashid Khan's lethal spell of 37 was just too much for DC to handle, as they succumbed to an 88-run loss.
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Following the match, Warner and Saha expressed their delight on the thumping batting performance from them. They stated that owing to their frustrating loss against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), in the last game, they decided to go after the prime bowlers of DC and play fearless cricket, which paid them dividends.
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"The game before, we were disappointed with that chase. We defended last game, and with two world-class bowlers in Nortje and Rabada, we decided to go after it. I went a little 2009 and opened my front leg to take it on. I took a bit of responsibility at the top of the order, and take it to the bowlers. It's tough to play orthodox cricket in these conditions, so I have to open up 360 degrees," said SRH skipper Warner, following the win.
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Warner was also all-praise for Rashid, whose prolific spell of 38 pushed DC onto the backfoot. "As for Rashid, it is incredible that he's taking so many wickets and not going for runs, especially given the dew and the moisture here. We've got games at Sharjah to go, so hopefully, we can put on a show there," he added.
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As for Saha, he was delighted at getting his second opportunity for the season, besides stating that he was determined to make it count, to the fullest. "I got the opportunity for the second time this year and took my chances in the powerplay. Initially, the ball was holding a bit, but I took my chances and went after it after the pitch eased out. I'm happy I got selected for the Tests in Australia. We are looking forward to win the last two matches for the Sunrisers and that's our target now," he said.
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Nonetheless, DC skipper Shreyas Iyer expressed his frustration, as his side slumped to the third spot, suffering three back-to-back defeats. "Definitely a big loss, but you can't get bogged down at this point of time. We still have two games. One win is all we need - we've been waiting for that since the last three games. This loss is definitely going to motivate us. I think we lost it in the powerplay itself, when they got 70 plus runs. I think we need to have a strong and positive mindset. These loses are no going to put us down," he said.
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"We've been doing amazing before these three matches, and it shouldn't get to our heads. Any team can surprise any team in this tournament. You can't underestimate anyone, especially at the business end of the tournament. RCB is a good team, but we must also remember we've beaten them before," he further noted.
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Meanwhile, Rashid thanked the Dubai track for helping him out with the ball, as he also clarified that keeping a clear mindset has helped him in the tournament, so far. "Winning the game was the most important. The wicket was helping a lot. What I'm mainly focusing on is to bowl economically, whether I get wickets or not. Dot balls help me to get wickets, and it also helps the other end to get wickets," he quoted.
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"I just go with a clear mind, that's my biggest strength - I want to bowl a good line and length, no matter the situation. You have to mix up and play with the batsman's mind, and see the weak zone and strong zone of the batsman as well. So, I keep those things in mind," he concluded.
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SRH play Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) next, on Saturday, in Sharjah. As for DC, they play defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) on the same day, in Dubai. Both RCB and MI, too, need a win each to qualify for the playoffs.
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