Starc picked up his first ever five-wicket haul in T20 cricket. © BCCI Sunrisers Hyderabad’s philosophy of living by the sword and dying by it led them to their second successive defeat, against Delhi Capitals in Vizag. Mitchell Starc picked his maiden T20 fifer to keep SRH down to 163 despite Aniket Verma’s six-hitting exhibition in a 41-ball 74 before the DC top-order chased it down with 7 wickets and four overs to spare. Where the match was won? SRH were hamstrung in the PowerPlay with four dismissals. They got six more than Delhi Capitals did in this phase but it was the repercussions of this phase that led them to an under-par total. The PowerPlay difference Parameters SRH DC Score 58/4 52/0 Run-rate 9.67 8.67 4s/6s 7/1 4/3 Sunrisers Hyderabad Powerplay: Starc removes top-order Phase score: 58/4 [RR: 9.67, 4s/6s: 7/1] Pat Cummins became the first captain this season to bat first after winning the toss but his high-flying top-order was quickly dismantled by Mitchell Starc. Abhishek Sharma was run out after a mix-up between the openers after which Mitchell Starc took out Ishan Kishan, Nitish Reddy and Travis Head by the fifth over. With that, since IPL 2024, Starc has 8 wickets in 11 overs against SRH in PowerPlay. SRH should’ve been five down before the end of the PowerPlay, but Abishek Porel put down a catch to offer Aniket Verma a reprieve. Middle-overs: Aniket flies but DC retain control Phase score: 82/3 [RR: 9.11, 4s/6s: 4/6] Aniket flexed his muscles against DC’s spinners, starting out by hitting Vipraj Nigam for a six and a four in the seventh over. In the next over, he tonked Axar for two successive sixes and also went after Mohit Sharma. Heinrich Klaasen then welcomed Kuldeep Yadav with a straight six to press on with the fifth-wicket stand. They took the team past 100 by the halfway stage but DC hit back through an excellent catch from Vipraj Nigam that sent the South African back. Kuldeep and Axar then bowled three excellent overs, conceding just eight in it. Aniket meanwhile got to his maiden IPL half-century and went after Axar once again in a 17-run 15th over. Death overs: Starc bundles out SRH with fifer Phase score: 23/3 [RR: 6.27 4s/6s: 1/1] Aniket departed in the 16th over chasing another big six, falling for a 41-ball 74. Starc then came back to quickly wrap the innings up in the 19th over, dismissing Harshal Patel and Wiaan Mulder. While SRH finished on 163, the Aussie quick walked away with figures of 5-35, his first fifer in T20 cricket. Delhi Capitals PowerPlay: SRH toil in wicketless phase Phase score: 52/0 [RR: 8.67, 4s/6s: 4/3] Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser-McGurk started well, taking on all four of the bowling options that Cummins threw at them in the PowerPlay. Harshal Patel bowled a good first over but Cummins himself was taken apart for 13 runs. Shami started well but erred in his second to let DC control the game at the start of their chase. Middle-overs: Zeeshan Ansari strikes thrice but DC march on Phase score: 98/3 [RR: 10.88, 4s/6s: 9/4] SRH’s young leggie Zeeshan Ansari picked three wickets but it didn’t alter the course of the proceedings as the hosts galloped along towards the target through different batters. Du Plessis got to a 26-ball half-century while McGurk too showed urgency before falling to the spinner. DC had 96 on the board at the halfway stage, being comfortably ahead of the asking rate. KL Rahul marked his DC debut by smashing Shami for two fours and a six in the 11th over. Abishek Porel then walked out and seamlessly carried on with the run-making, hitting Ansari for a four and a six in the 14th over. DC got to 150/3 in 15 overs, with only 13 more to get at the death. Death-over: Six balls to wrap it up Phase score – 16/0 [RR: 16.00, 4s/6s: 2/1] Porel went after Wiaan Mulder in the 16th over to complete the commanding victory. Brief Scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 163 in 18.4 overs (Aniket Verma 74, Heinrich Klaasen 32; Mitchell Starc 5-35, Kuldeep Yadav 3-22) lost to Delhi Capitals 166/3 in 16 overs (Faf du Plessis 50, Jake Fraser-McGurk 38, Abishek Porel 34*; Zeeshan Ansari 3-42) by 7 wickets What next? Sunrisers head to Kolkata where they face KKR on April 3 while Delhi Capitals have a longer break before taking on CSK in Chennai on April 5.
