Courtesy Travis Head (89 off 32 balls) and his 131-run opening stand with Abhishek Sharma (46 off 12 balls) in just 6.2 overs, Sunrisers Hyderabad looked set to better the highest IPL team total once again and maybe even go past 300 at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Saturday.
In the end, they could get 266/7, but even that proved too good for the Delhi Capitals, as the Sunrisers registered another comprehensive 67-run victory to move up to No.2 in the standings with 10 points. The Kolkata Knight Riders have dropped down to third.
After the Capitals won the toss and opted to bowl first in their first appearance at the Kotla this season, the scorecard read 103/0 after only five overs for the Sunrisers. Head, taking Powerplay batting to a different level altogether, was on 62 off 20 balls then.
The Sunrisers' chances of notching up 300 gradually faded following the dismissals of Head and Heinrich Klaasen. With Kuldeep Yadav (4/55) striking in the middle overs and Axar Patel (1/29) being economical, the Sunrisers slowed down a bit.
Spinner all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed (59 not out off 29 balls), though, delivered in the death overs for the Sunrisers and recorded his maiden IPL half-century.
In reply, young Australian Jake Frasur-McGurk (65 off 18 balls) looked almost as dangerous as Head with his clean hitting, bringing up his second IPL fifty off just 15 balls. But barring the 22-year-old, the bigger names floundered as the Capitals were all out for 199 in 19.1 overs. Skipper Rishabh Pant scored only 16 off the first 20 balls he had faced.
Pacer T. Natarajan (4/19) excelled for the Sunrisers with his excellent lengths.
