Skipper Pat Cummins leads an inspired show by Sunrisers Hyderabad's pace bowlers against Delhi Capitals, claiming three wickets in his first three overs.
Last year’s runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad suffered a heartbreaking exit from the IPL 2025 play-off race after rain washed out their must-win game against Delhi Capitals in Hyderabad on Monday.
SRH, who kicked off their campaign emphatically by thrashing Rajasthan Royals by 44 runs after posting a mammoth 286-6, went on a downward spiral thereafter, winning just two of their next nine matches.
Most Catches by SRH 'keepers
Before the match against DC, they were mathematically alive in the race for a top-four finish, and in front of the home crowd they gave it their all to keep the slim hopes alive.
Their pace bowlers, who had been firing blanks, came up with an inspired show. Skipper led the charge, ripping through the opposition’s top-order, claiming three wickets in his first three overs. He finished his quota with excellent figures of 3-19.
1,000 hits to the Fence
The SRH bowlers, who dismissed their opponents only once this season, bowled their hearts out, reducing DC to 30 for 5 inside eight overs.
Out of the seven wickets that fell on the day, six were snapped up by their pacers while the remaining one was a run-out.
Miserly Spell by Cummins
Charging in with unyielding rhythm, Cummins struck off the first ball of the innings, removing DC’s makeshift opener Karun Nair with a searing delivery that nipped away just enough to kiss the edge.
What followed was an exhibition of hostile fast bowling, as he rattled the top-order with a mixture of short-pitched fury and full-length precision, picking a wicket off the first delivery in his second and third over.
South African stalwart Faf de Plessis was the next to go. The Aussie banged in a short of a length delivery which angled into the batter. Faf, looking to free his arms, heaved it across the line, but could only manage a faint nick through to the keeper.
Cummins returned for his third over and got rid of the other opener -- Abhishek Porel -- straightaway.
A good length delivery just down leg saw Porel attempt to pick it up and flick, but the ball took the leading edge and went up in the air. Ishan Kishan ran to his right and gobbled it up safely for his third catch of the night.
Cummins conceded just 12 runs off his first three overs to leave Delhi Capitals reeling at 19-3 after five.
Taking inspiration from the skipper, Harshal Patel joined the demolition act, snaring rival skipper Axar Patel with a slower, full-length delivery. Trying to carve it over extra-cover, Axar rushed in the shot and bottom-edged it to Cummins, who was manning the mid-off region.
It was veteran Jaydev Unadkat’s turn next. Coming into the attack in the eighth over, he emulated his skipper by also picking up a wicket off his first delivery. The prey was DC’s batting mainstay, K L Rahul.
Rahul attempted to drive on the up a full delivery which moved away after hitting the deck; the ball took a healthy outside edge and flew to Kishan behind the stumps.
The other pacer in their ranks -- Eshan Malinga -- too registered his name in the wickets column by dismissing the dangerous Ashutosh Sharma in the final over.
Before this match, none of SRH’s pacers performed to their potential. Cummins had only taken 10 wickets from 10 matches, at an ordinary average of 9.64.
Harshal Patel, who snapped up 13 wickets at 9.50, was also expensive.
Powerplay Woes
Team India pacer Mohammed Shami’s lack of impact with the ball was glaring. The Purple Cap winner in the 2023 season for Gujarat Titans with 28 wickets in 17 outings, he could take only six wickets in nine innings, at a strike-rate of 30, forcing the SRH management to drop him down to the Impact Subs' list against DC.
Although SRH are out of contention for the play-offs, their opponents in the remaining games -- Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Lucknow Super Giants -- who all are in the hunt for a top-four finish, will not be taking them lightly, especially after the superlative show with the ball against DC.
Photographs: BCCI
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