NEW DELHI, Apr 29:
Mitchell Marsh dished out one of his finest all-round performances but it wasn’t enough as Sunrisers Hyderabad returned to winning ways with a comprehensive nine-run win over Delhi Capitals in the IPL here on Saturday.
The hard-hitting Australian all-rounder first snapped four wickets and then blasted six maximums in his 39-ball 63-run knock to conjure up hopes of a successful chase but once he was out, things went downhill for the hosts on the sluggish Kotla track.
Batting first, Abhishek Sharma slammed a 36-ball 67 to set the stage for Heinrich Klaasen, who provided the final flourish with an unbeaten 53 as SRH posted an impressive 197 for 6.
In reply, Delhi lost skipper David Warner for a second-ball duck but Philip Salt (59) and Marsh took the attack to the opposition with a 112-run partnership off just 66 balls to lay a solid ground to their run chase.
With the duo in full flow, 57 runs came in the powerplay as left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein conceded 30 in his three overs.
Marsh clobbered Umran Malik for two maximums and Salt produced two good hits to amass 22 runs off the over, while Abhishek was punished for bowling wrong length with Marsh slamming a four and six.
An incredible caught and bowled effort from Mayank Markande finally broke the partnership with Salt back in the pavilion. Soon, Abhishek got rid of Manish Pandey and when Marsh holed out to Markram off Hosein, it left DC at 125 for 4 in the 14th over.
Needing 69 off 36 balls, SRH tightened the screws to limit DC to 188 for six in 20 overs with Axar Patel scoring 29 off 14 balls.
With the win, SRH snapped their three-match losing streak to remain alive in the competition. They are bow in the eighth spot with six points, while DC stayed at the bottom.
Earlier, back at the top, Abhishek seemed to be batting on a different track, slamming 12 fours and a six, even as the others struggled on the two-paced wicket.
While the southpaw looked in good rhythm, the rest of the top and middle order continued to disappoint, scoring in single digits.
But Klaasen’s 27-ball-knock ensured that momentum is not lost with as many as 62 runs coming off last five overs. (PTI)
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