SRH skipper David Warner celebrated his 34th birthday by treating himself to a 34-ball 66 run knock and with his opening partner Wriddhiman Saha (45-ball 87) -- who scored his first fifty of the season -- stitched a solid 107-run stand for the opening wicket to ensure their team gets a flying start and score a mammoth 219/2 against Delhi Capitals at the end of their allotted 20 overs. Warner also created a unique record by becoming the only player, so far, to score a half-century inside the powerplay (first six overs). The Hyderabad skipper scored 54 runs inside the powerplay, bettering Prithvi Shaw's 42 for DC against RCB in Dubai.
The under-pressure Delhi Capitals tonight face the 'Orange Army' after facing consecutive defeats and now look to get those 2 points to reach to the top of the IPL 2020 Points Table and qualify for the playoffs with 16 points.
Delhi Capitals won the toss and opted to bowl first. For SRH, David Warner got a new batting partner as it was Wriddhiman Saha who got promoted to the open the innings for his team. Warner, who scored a fantastic ton on his last birthday, gave a brisk start to his team.
ALSO READ | Here's Why AB de Villiers Has Decided Not To Play For Brisbane Heat In BBL 2020
Both Warner and Saha ensured their team gets off to a rockling start as they powered Hyderabad to 55 for loss of no wicket in first five overs. The duo was literally making a mockery of DC's lethal bowling attack and hammered the bowlers for successive boundaries.
Just at the end of the powerplay, Warner scored a 25-ball fifty -- his 47th IPL fifty -- to power Sunrisers Hyderabad to 73/0 in first six overs. Birthday boy David Warner's birthday party comes to an end after a fantastic 34-ball 66 and it was veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin who got the much-needed breakthrough for his team after the 57 ball carnage.
Manish Pandey was the new man in. Soon after Warner's departure, Saha celebrated his fifty with a great drive behind point. With this, Saha, who came in for regular opener Bairstow, notched up a quick 27-ball half-century also his first this season.
Though Ashwin broke the 107-run stand but still SRH were in complete control of the match. Saha was caught by DC captain Shreyas Iyer as he looked to go big right after hitting a boundary off Anrich Nortje but could only the sky the ball and was caught for 87, just 13 short of a ton. The tired right-hander throwed away his wicket after stitching a 58-run partnership off 26 balls with Pandey.
In the death overs, Pandey and Williamson kept the scoreboard ticking to power their team to a mammoth 219/2 against Delhi Capitals.
ALSO READ | IPL 2020 Points Table, Orange Cap And Purple Cap List: All You Need To Know About Race To IPL 13 Playoffs
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Delhi Capitals Head To Head Stats/Record
So far 16 matches have been played in the IPL between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals. Of these, 10 matches have been won by Hyderabad and 6 matches have been won by Delhi Capitals. The last time both teams clashed in IPL 2020, Sunrisers Hyderabad won by 15 runs over Delhi Capitals.
Delhi Capitals Playing XI: Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tushar Deshpande
Sunrisers Hyderabad Playing XI: David Warner(c), Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Jason Holder, Shahbaz Nadeem, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan