Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers fired in unison as they posted a comprehensive six-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils in the Pepsi Indian Premier League here today, brightening their chances of playing in the play-offs of the ongoing T20 league.
After bowling out Delhi for 80, which is this season’s lowest score, Hyderabad chased down the target with 37 balls to spare to move into the top four in the standings.
The defeat has also virtually ruled out Delhi’s chances of advancing to the next stage.
Dale Steyn, Thisara Perera and Darren Sammy picked up two wickets each while there were one apiece for Ishant Sharma, Karan Sharma and Amit Mishra.
Shikhar Dhawan top-scored for the hosts with 22 while Darren Sammy remained unbeaten on 18 as the side posted its fifth win in as many games at home.
Dhawan was his usual self from the word go, hitting the three front-line Delhi pacers for boundaries.
Irfan Pathan, Umesh Yadav and Ashish Nehra could hardly pose tough questions as Dhawan dominated proceedings.
The highlight of Dhawan’s cameo was the boundary off Nehra, who was driven through cover-point after the batsman made room for himself.
The flamboyant left-hander then stood tall and drove Yadav between cover and mid-off for another boundary.
However, the entertainment was cut short as Johan Botha had Dhawan trapped with a skidy delivery that seemed to be heading down the legside.
Ashish Reddy was off the mark in a jiffy and that too in style, punching away a short-of-a-length Nehra delivery through covers for four. But that was it as the batsman was sent back by Ashish Nehra who had him caught behind.
Parthiv Patel, after spending some time in the middle, misread a googly by Jeevan Mendis to be stumped by Kedar Jadhav for 14.
Even as the hosts ambled, skipper Kumar Sangakkara fell to Botha while going for a needless heave and could not clear long-off where Umesh Yadav completed the catch.
Hyderabad could have lost another wicket as Botha appealed for a caught behind, but the umpire ruled in favour of the batsman, Hanuma Vihari.
Sammy helped Hyderabad close in on the target with a six off Mendis over long-on, before Vihari drove Yadav to bring up the win.
Earlier, a combination of some disciplined bowling from Hyderabad aided by a pathetic batting display saw the hosts bowl out Delhi for a paltry total.
Opting to bat after the coin landed in skipper Mahela Jayawardene’s favour, Delhi lost wickets at regular intervals to leave the hosts with a real chance of consolidating their position in the points table.
This is also the second time in this edition that Daredevils have been dismissed for less than 100 — the first one coming against Chennai Super Kings at the Feroz Shah Kotla last month.
The first casualty was the skipper himself, trapped in front of the wicket by Ishant Sharma after what appeared to be a watchful start to the visitors’ innings in yet another must-win game.
Next to go was Virender Sehwag, whose off-stump was disturbed by Darren Sammy, who celebrated the big wicket by performing his by-now-familiar act — sucking on a pacifier hanging around his neck.
With the two big guns gone, the onus was on David Warner to lead the resurrection act, but the Australian was stumped off Amit Mishra’s bowling.
Unmukt Chand top-scored for the visitors with 17, reflecting the mediocrity of the Delhi batting at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
The rest of the batting could not stand up to Steyn and Co as they were bowled out in 19.1 overs.
That Jayawardene’s six over square-leg was the only maximum of the evening, was another poor advertisement from the the league’s point of view.
Delhi have so far won three matches while losing seven.
