In a thrilling contest which was decided of the last ball of the match, Delhi Daredevils’ Karun Nair played a sterling innings and helped his team to a 6-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad. In a win-it-to-stay-alive contest, the Daredevils restricted SRH to 158-7 and then chased down the runs losing only four wickets in the process. The Daredevils began the final over needing 11 runs, but after four disciplined deliveries from Bhuvneshwar Kumar that yielded only five runs, Karun smashed boundaries off the last two balls to guide his team to a famous victory. The result means the Delhi Daredevils stay alive in the race to the VIVO IPL 2016 Playoffs, and it now appears the Playoff line-up will only be decided after the last league fixture of the season.
Needing nearly eight runs an over at the start of their chase, DD lost their key batsman Quinton de Kock in the second over. But Karun Nair, who walked in to bat at number three, anchored the chase, stitched together partnerships along the way, and helped the team over the line. The young batsman from Karnataka played some classy shots in his 59-ball knock; his unbeaten 83 was laced with flowing drives and powerful pull shots. He brought up his half-century in the 14th over, needing 42 balls to get to the milestone. But in the final four overs of the chase, when the required run rate had crept past ten runs per over, he upped the ante; he hit two sixes off Barinder Sran in the seventeenth over and then hit the two boundaries off the last two balls to seal the deal.
Karun was involved in useful partnerships with Rishabh Pant (32 from 26 balls), who was promoted to open the innings; the second-wicket pair added 73 runs in just under ten overs which helped keep the required run rate in check. The third wicket partnership between Karun and JP Duminy yielded 35 runs in 4.3 overs and took the Daredevils closer. Despite losing Duminy and Carlos Brathwaite at critical moments in the run-chase, the presence of a well-set Karun, and the young lad’s unflustered head and application took the home side past the finish line.
For Sunrisers Hyderabad, Barinder Sran (2-34), who was picked in the XI as a replacement for the injured Ashish Nehra, was the most successful bowler. Mustafizur Rahman was impressive once again; he bowled a sensational 19th over in which he dismissed Brathwaite and conceded only five runs to keep his team alive heading into the final over. Bhuvneshwar bowled four excellent deliveries in the final over before Karun put him away for two boundaries. Sunrisers also had a forgettable day on the field; the bowlers gave away 10 runs through wides, while Warner dropped Karun (when he was on 51) and Bhuvneshwar dropped Duminy.
Earlier in the evening, the Sunrisers Hyderabad innings was one which had several ebbs and flows. David Warner was his belligerent self, pummeling the bowlers, while the rest of his teammates struggled to come to grips with the pitch and outfield conditions. The SRH captain pierced the off-side field, drove inside-out over the fielders, and even pulled out the cheeky reverse sweep to send the ball on its way to the thirdman boundary. The Australian also put the ball in the wide gaps in the outfield at Raipur and ran hard between the wickets in humid conditions; he ran as many as 21 singles and 7 twos for himself in his 56-ball innings, apart from running for his partner’s runs too. The left-hander was involved in partnerships of 42 with Shikhar Dhawan and 39 runs with Moises Henriques, before he was fifth out, finding Amit Mishra at the thirdman boundary. Warner made 73 – his seventh half-century of the innings – and hit eight boundaries and a six. Henriques’ 18 was the second-highest score for SRH , who added 34 runs in the final three overs and finished at 158-7.
If SRH were sloppy on the field, the Daredevils had a very good day, taking most of the catches that came their way and converting half chances to wickets. One sensational effort came from Brathwaite, who fielded the ball on his follow through with his left hand, picked up the ball with his right hand, did a 360-degree turn and then scored a direct hit at the striker’s end to catch Dhawan short of the crease. Deepak Hooda was run out when he took off for a non-existent single and Mishra, with one stump to aim at, scored a direct hit at the non-striker’s end.
Brief Score
Sunrisers Hyderabad 158-7 in 20.0 Overs (David Warner 73, Craig Brathwaite 2-27)
Delhi Daredevils 161-4 in 20.0 Overs (Karun Nair 83*, Rishabh Pant 32, Barinder Sran 2-34) by 6 wickets.
