In a thrilling Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Delhi Capitals defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 7 runs. Axar Patel played a brilliant all-round game to help Delhi to their second successive victory. He scored a run-a-ball 34 to guide his side to a below-par 144/9 after the team had struggled at 62/5. Patel also claimed two wickets in his four overs, including the crucial wickets of Mayank Agarwal and Aiden Markram, to restrict Sunrisers Hyderabad to 137/8.
Washington Sundar was also in great form for Sunrisers, claiming three wickets in an over and scoring an unbeaten 24 off 15 balls. However, his efforts were not enough as Delhi's bowlers kept the pressure on the Sunrisers throughout the match.
Sunrisers Hyderabad had gone into the last three overs needing 38 runs, and thanks to some late-order hitting by Heinrich Klaasen and Washington Sundar, they had a chance. However, Nortje allowed only 10 runs in the 19th over, and Mukesh Kumar bowled a brilliant final over to seal the win for Delhi Capitals.
Earlier, Delhi Capitals struggled to capitalize on the Power-play, losing Phil Salt and Mitchell Marsh within the first five overs. Washington Sundar then claimed a triple blow in the eighth over to leave Delhi Capitals reeling at 58/4. However, Manish Pandey and Axar Patel added 69 runs for the sixth wicket to give their team a chance.
Delhi Capitals' bowlers then came up with a disciplined effort, drying up the boundaries and claiming crucial wickets in the middle part of the innings. This was the third consecutive loss for Sunrisers Hyderabad, who are struggling to find their form in the IPL.
Brief scores:
Delhi Capitals 144/9 in 20 overs (Axar Patel 34, Manish Pandey 34; Washington Sundar 3-28, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2-11) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 137/6 in 20 overs (Mayank Agarwal 49, Henrich Klassen 31, Washington Sundar 24 not out; Axar Patel 2-21, Anrich Nortje 2-33) by 7 runs.