Finally the Sun rises, over the Capitals!!

Two sides Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad came into this match on a streak – one on a winning and the other on a losing one. At the end of the day, both the streaks were broken, and it was a breaking good (not bad) for the Sunrisers. They put up a stellar performance with the bat and ball earning their first win of the tournament after two losses.

#1 The Opening throttle

Warner and Bairstow saw off the new ball leading SRH to a decent start. Then Warner upped the ante and hit a few lusty blows. Bairstow played an anchor role and steadied the ship for SRH after the dismissal of Warner and Manish. It was not a typical Bairstow knock yet he adapted well to the conditions on offer, clinching up his fifty in the process.

#2 The Orange Kiwi

SRH opted to play Williamson in place of Nabi in this game. And boy he proved why he was the missing puzzle in the SRH batting line up in the first two games. He ran hard, maneuvered the field well, and scored a quickfire 40 striking at an excess rate of 150. His classy innings enabled the team to put up a competitive total on the scoreboard.

#3 The Swing King

The 2-time purple cap holder was back at his best today and picked up an important scalp of Prithvi Shaw in the very first over. He swung the ball both the ways and set the tone for the rest of the bowlers to follow. He also came back and bowled beautifully in the death employing his yorkers and slow ball variations on the two-paced pitch at Abu Dhabi.

#4 The Match Turner

Rashid Khan, the X factor in the SRH bowling line up came to the fore today and dismantled the top order of the Delhi Capitals. He picked up Dhawan and Shreyas in his first spell and slowed down the scoring rate of the opposition. He then dismissed Rishabh Pant in his last over, who was looking dangerous and trying to take the game from the men in orange.

#5 The Yorker Specialist

Natarajan who is known for his trade in the TNPL rose to the occasion today and delivered with the ball for SRH. He nailed the yorkers right on target and bowled 9 of them in his entire spell. He gave no room for the batsmen to stretch their arms, cramping them for room and cutting down the boundaries. Thanks to that, he picked up the crucial wicket of Stoinis, thus hitting the final nail on the coffin for the Delhi Capitals.

So, with SRH up and running, each team has now got at least a W next to their name in the first 2 weeks of the tournament which is a rarity in the recent seasons of IPL. This shows the competitiveness of the teams in this season and hoping for more exciting action of cricket going forward. Cheers!

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About the Author

The post is written by Aravind. Aravind is a graduate from IIM Visakhapatnam and an avid cricket enthusiast. He follows the game with great passion. More than mere watching, he likes to analyze the game deeply and write blogs