PL 2021: Dhawan, Iyer lead Delhi to easy win over Hyderabad

Dubai, Sep. 22 (IANS): Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer made an easy task of a chase of 135 to take Delhi Capitals to a commanding eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad here on Wednesday, with 13 balls to spare. With this victory, Delhi now sit at the top of points table while Hyderabad remain at the bottom.

Delhi’s chase began well with Shikhar Dhawan picking boundaries on both sides of the wicket off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the second over. Prithvi Shaw joined the party with boundaries against Khaleel Ahmed. But the left-arm pacer had the last laugh as he foxed Shaw with a slower delivery. Shaw’s mistimed hoick was pouched by captain Kane Williamson taking a sensational catch by running back from mid-on.

Shaw’s dismissal didn’t deter Dhawan from playing his free-flowing game. Williamson rotated his bowlers but none of them were able to stop Dhawan’s run-scoring spree. Rashid Khan, slog swept for a six by Dhawan in his opening over, broke the 52-run partnership by getting the left-hander caught at deep square leg while going for the sweep.

Shreyas Iyer, playing a competitive match after six months, scored his first boundary of the night with a six dispatched over deep mid-wicket off Rashid Khan in the ninth over. Iyer smashed Sandeep Sharma for consecutive boundaries in the 14th over to keep the asking rate in check.

Rishabh Pant, who survived a run-out chance off Manish Pandey in the 16th over, smashed Bhuvneshwar Kumar with a pull over deep mid-wicket before taking a boundary through fine leg and a six over deep mid-wicket off Ahmed to take Delhi closer to the target.

After Pant crunched Jason Holder for a drive, Iyer finished off things in style with a pull over long-on to consign Hyderabad to their seventh loss of the tournament.

Brief Scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 134/9 in 20 overs (Abdul Samad 28, Rashid Khan 22, Kagiso Rabada 3/37, Anrich Nortje 2/12) lost to Delhi Capitals 139/2 in 17.5 overs (Shreyas Iyer 47 not out, Shikhar Dhawan 42, Rashid Khan 1/26, Khaleel Ahmed 1/33) by eight wickets.