Marcus Stoinis’s all-round performance, Shikhar Dhawan’s superb 50-ball 78, and pacer Kagiso Rabada’s four-wicket haul propelled Delhi Capitals (DC) into their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) final with a 17-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the second Qualifier here on Sunday.
The Delhi franchise, which has never made it to the IPL final, will face four-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in the summit clash on Tuesday in Dubai.
Chasing DC’s 189 for three wickets in 20 overs, 2016 champions SRH were restricted to 172 for eight wickets in 20 overs. The David Warner-led Hyderabad were jolted at regular intervals even as Kane Williamson (67 off 45 balls) dished out his best to avoid a defeat. However, Rabada (4/29) and Stoinis (38 off 27 balls and 3/26) ensured their side a most crucial win in the history of the league.
Stoinis not just impressed with the ball but the all-rounder, who was promoted as an opener earlier in the day, starred with the bat as well. The Aussie was adjudged the Man of the Match for his all-round performance.
Chasing the target, SRH was reduced to 44/3 as Priyam Garage (17), David Warner (2) and Manish Pandey (21) fell cheaply. While Stoinis accounted for Garg and Pandey, Rabada got the better of the SRH skipper.
Williamson and Jason Holder (11) showed some resistance with a 46-run stand. However, the partnership didn’t last long as Axar Patel (1/33) dismissed Windies skipper Holder in the 12th over.
Abdul Samad (33 off 16 balls) and Williamson kept the fight on and shared a 57-run partnership before Stoinis broke the stand by dismissing the latter. Williamson’s knock was laced with five fours and four maximums.
Rabada then wreaked havoc as he picked Samad, Rashid Khan (11), and Shreevats Goswami (0) in the 19th over, leaving SRH tottering at 168/8.
Both Shahbaz Nadeem and Sandeep Sharma were unbeaten on two runs each as SRH fell 17 runs short of the target.
Earlier opting to bat, Dhawan’s gritty 50-ball 78 and Shimron Hetmyer’s unbeaten 42 powered DC to 189/3 wickets in their 20 overs.
Stoinis and Dhawan added 86 runs for the first wicket before Rashid Khan (1/26) got the first breakthrough, dismissing the former in the ninth over.
Stoinis fall saw skipper Shreyas Iyer (21) joining Dhawan and the pair stitched 40 runs. Jason Holder (1/50) then applied brakes on the DC skipper, packing him in the 14th over.
Dhawan, however, kept his wicket safe and later forged a crucial 52-run partnership with Hetmyer as the duo took the SRH bowlers to cleaners towards the end.
While trying to improve the run rate, Dhawan was trapped by Sandeep Sharma (1/30) in the 19th over with DC being placed at 178/3. Dhawan’s innings contained six boundaries and a couple of sixes.
Hytmer and Rishabh Pant (2 not out) then managed 11 runs in the remaining deliveries, helping DC post a challenging total.
Brief scores: Delhi Capitals 189/3 wkts in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 78, Shimron Hetmyer 42 not out; Rashid Khan 1/26) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 172/8 in 20 overs (Kane Williamson 67, Abdul Samad 33; Kagiso Rabada 4/29) by 17 runs
