Twitter Reactions: Delhi Capitals triumph in Super Over clash to hand SRH fourth defeat

A seemingly ordinary contest suddenly assumed intrigue after Sunrisers Hyderabad dragged things into a Super Over. Having set 160 on the back of Prithvi Shaw’s half-century and crucial thirties from Rishabh Pant and Steve Smith, DC’s bowlers clawed their way back into the game after Jonny Bairstow had given his team a flying start. Although, the untrustworthy middle-order of SRH botched up the chase, leading to a tied contest, where the Capitals emerged victoriously.

Having called correctly at the toss, Rishabh Pant opted to bat on the dry surface at Chennai. The Capitals took off immediately courtesy of an utterly fluent Prithvi Shaw, who scored a hat-trick of boundaries as his first runs off Khaleel Ahmed.

He followed that with two more in Abhishek Sharma’s 14-run opening over, while Shikhar Dhawan, who was dropped at 5 by Kedar Jadhav, got into his elements with consecutive fours off the left arm finger-spin of Jagadeesha Suchith. Having ended powerplay 51/0, the Capitals flew to 80/0 at the halfway mark before Hyderabad slowed things down a tad bit courtesy of Rashid Khan.

Shimmying down the track, Dhawan was beaten by Rashid and was knocked over for a 26-ball 28. Shaw, who notched up his half-century off 35 balls, seemed in no mood to stop until but he wrapper-packed and gifted his wicket soon: getting run-out thanks to a horrible mix-up.

Pant, Smith’s charge take DC to 159

Shaw’s 39-ball 53 had given Delhi the right platform, although two wickets in quick succession at the tricky Chepauk surface waived that advantage. Steve Smith and Pant partnered for a 58-run third-wicket stand, and while the Capitals’ skipper showed intent, reverse-sweeping Rashid and picking three fours off him overall, Suchith’s 21-run spell in the middle-phase infused lethargy in the total.

Smith, on the other hand, was striking run-a-ball until the 18th over, when he took a couple of fours off Khaleel Ahmed to accelerate. He capitalized on the life given to him a couple of overs ago when Siddharth Kaul dropped a dolly at short third-man. Kaul redeemed himself in the penultimate over, sending back both Pant (37 off 24) and Shimron Hetmyer (1 off 2) before Smith picked a four and six off Ahmed in the final over to set 160 for his rivals.

Bairstow blasts off

Both sides were generous in giving each other lives. Bairstow had only gotten off the mark when Shimron Hetmyer dropped him off Ravi Ashwin. To add insult to injury, Hetmyer’s foot touched the rope, giving Bairstow the first of his three boundaries. The bulky Yorkshireman took on Marcus Stoinis in the next over, sending him over midwicket and mid-on for a boundary and six respectively, to make Hetmyer regret his fault instantly.

In a raging mood, he attacked both spinners – Ashwin and Axar Patel, picking two sixes and a four inside the powerplay. Some respite came DC’s way when Avesh Khan got him caught at mid-on for an 18-ball 38. Bairstow was the second wicket to fall in the powerplay after David Warner’s managed to get himself run-out while trying to steal a risky single.

Williamson’s anchor, Suchith cameo take SRH to Super Over

After Bairstow’s exit, Sunrisers were once again left to grapple with their collapse syndrome as Williamson anchored the innings alongside a fragile middle-order. Contributing only 4 off 14 in the 28-run stand, Virat Singh holed Avesh Khan out to mid-wicket, while Amit Mishra duped Kedar Jadhav and got him stumped for a run-a-ball 9.

SRH were soon double jolted after the time-out as Axar Patel pinned both Abhishek and Rashid lbw off successive deliveries. Needing 43 off 22, Vijay Shankar joined Williamson, but could only manage an 8-ball 7 before chopping Avesh onto his stumps. Walking inside on a tricky surface and trickier pitch, Suchith struck two fours in the same over, followed by a six in the last over bowled by Rabada to take game into the first Super Over of the edition.

Super Over drama

It was no surprise that two spinners – Axar and Rashid – operated in the Super Over thanks to the venue. Giving only a solitary boundary, Axar tied down Warner and Williamson to just 7 runs. A couple of singles brought the pressure on DC’s contenders: Dhawan and Pant. The latter’s reverse-sweep went for four but a dot ball left the Capitals with one needed of the last ball, which the duo managed to seal the Super Over.

Here’s how Twitter reacted: