Dhawan-Williamson nullify Pant's record ton, Sunrisers knock DD out to enter play-offs

Delhi Daredevils won the toss and opted to bat first against table toppers Sunirsers Hyderabad in IPL eleven’s match No. 42 at the Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi.

Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson put together the highest partnership of IPL 2018 to overpower the highest individual score of IPL as Sunrisers Hyderabad knocked out Delhi Daredevils with a 9-wicket win to become the first side to ensure play-off qualification.

Chasing a target of 188, Sunrisers did not get off to the ideal start. Opener Alex Hales was caught plumb in front by Harshal Patel  for 14. Since then it was a one way traffic and Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson were the traffic controllers.

The duo put on a 176-run stand for the second wicket to nullify the destruction of Rishabh Pant. It was a sort of anti-climax with Sunrisers getting home 18.5 overs and 9 wickets still in the bank.

Dhawan, who had been off colour after his opening match brilliance nonchalantly scored an unbeaten 92 in front of his home crowd that overshadowed his domestic side teammate Pant’s heroic 128 off 63 balls.

Captain Williamson struck his sixth half-century in the season and remained not out on 80 to prove that Sunrisers can win matches with their batting too.

With just six points from 11 games, Delhi are now certain to make another early exit from the tournament.

Sunrisers, who lead the table with 18 points from 11 games will now target the top two spots to have two cracks at the final.

DD Innings

Rishabh Pant smashed his maiden hundred in the Indian Premier League, helping Delhi Daredevils overcome a poor start to reach an imposing 187 for five against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Pant (128 not out off 63 balls) was unstoppable in his unbeaten knock as toyed with arguably the best bowling attack in the competition, single-handedly giving a fighting chance to a struggling Delhi side.

His special knock comprising 15 fours and seven sixes also more than made up for his involvement in run-outs of captain Shreyas Iyer (3 off 7) and a set Hasrshal Patel (24 off 17).

Pant's strokeplay brought back memories of the first ever IPL hundred by Brendon McCullum in 2008, where he scored an unbeaten 158 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Saw McCullum in 2008..rishab pant innings right up there .. what a knock @bcci.@DelhiDaredevils @ParthJindal11

— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) May 10, 2018

In a display of outrageous hitting, Pant took 26 runs off the Bhuvnehwar Kumar last over that included two fours and three sixes.

Cannot believe my eyes Outrageous hitting @RishabPant777 specially against the best bowling side of this year IPL absolutely insane ...#IPL2018 #SRHvsDD https://t.co/it2bJMYvzU

— Arnab Mukherjee (@ArnabMu72704073) May 10, 2018

Delhi decided to put scoreboard pressure on the opposition by deciding to bat but things did not go according to plan in the powerplay.

Shakib Al Hasan struck off consecutive balls in the fourth over to remove  in-form opener Prithvi Shaw (9) and Englishman Jason Roy (11), leaving Delhi at 21 for two.

Shaw mistimed a pull off a short ball and Shikhar Dhawan latched on to it at cover.

Shakib sent back Roy the very next ball with a beauty that turned away just enough to take the edge to the wicket-keeper. 

Pant released the pressure with a hat-trick of boundaries against Siddharth Kaul in the sixth over before doing the same to lead spinner Rashid Khan in the 12th over.

Delhi had crawled to 52 for three in 10 overs but Pant's power hitting quickly changed the course of the game.

He reached the 50-run mark with his trademark hit, a six over midwicket off Shakib. He got to the 100 in a similar fashion, muscling a full toss from Kaul for over midwicket.  

The way Pant took on the likes of Shakib, Kaul and Bhuvenshwar Kumar was commendable.

The left-hander was also at his innovative best as he used the scoop shot over third man not once but thrice. Two of those scoops came in the final over bowled by Bhuvneshwar who proved to be the most expensive bowler for Sunrisers, leaking 51 runs in four overs. It was a rare off day for the India pacer.

The 20th over saw Pant dispatching Bhuvneshwar for three consecutive sixes, including a one-handed one that sailed over long-on.

Thanks to Pant, Delhi amassed 138 runs in the last 10 overs.

Pacer Kaul too had a forgettable outing as he conceded 48 runs off his four overs.

Delhi Daredevils won the toss and opted to bat first against table toppers Sunirsers Hyderabad in IPL eleven’s match No. 42 at the Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi.

Interestingly, both the captains wanted to bat first, which shows that teams have now started to take into account ware and tear of the Indian pitches because of the May heat.

Daredevils, who are all but out of the competition, have an ominous task of holding fort against Sunrisers, who have earned the tag of the best bowling side of IPL.

Iyer though, sounded confident of doing well on Thursday evening.

“We've been really confident in the last few games. We've done well doing so in the last few games and the batsmen look confident. We have to stay calm and not worry too much about the results. The attitude and character that we show on the field will improve the team's bonding,” says Daredevils captain Shreyas Iyer.

The Daredevils have made three changes to the side. Shahbaz Nadeem, Jason Roy and Harshal Patel have come in for Daniel Christian, Naman Ojha and Avesh Khan.

Sunrisers on the other hand were forced to make one change. Wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha has to sit out because of a shoulder injury. Another Bengal keeper Shrevats Goswami, who will play his first match of the season, has replaced Saha.

Williamson predicted the pitch will on the drier side.“Tough to predict the pitch and it looked dry, hopefully our bowlers can make some early inroads. (On the toss) Part and parcel of the game. Hard to control that, either you get to do it first or you don't. We chased last game. We can make improvements in all areas still, moving forward to the back half of the tournament. Don't want to get ahead of ourselves. Important to adapt to the surfaces we get.”

Delhi Daredevils (Playing XI): Prithvi Shaw, Jason Roy, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Glenn Maxwell, Vijay Shankar, Liam Plunkett, Harshal Patel, Amit Mishra, Shahbaz Nadeem, Trent Boult

Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Alex Hales, Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson(c), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Shreevats Goswami(w), Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma