The 35th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 saw Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) register a comprehensive 67-run victory over Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
DC won the toss and elected to field first. The Orange Army unleashed a batting masterclass, with openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma putting on a blistering 125-run stand in just six overs. This set a new record for the highest powerplay score in IPL history. Head smashed a fifty in a mere 16 balls, equalling the fastest fifty for SRH, while Sharma contributed a quickfire 46 off 12 deliveries.
The home team fought back through Kuldeep Yadav, who dismissed Sharma and Aiden Markram in quick succession. He then picked up the dangerous Head for 89 off 32 balls in the next over. Axar Patel chipped in with the wicket of Heinrich Klaasen to keep DC in the hunt. Despite these breakthroughs, SRH reached a mammoth 158/4 at the halfway mark – the highest score at the 10-over mark in IPL history.
Nitish Reddy and Shahbaz Ahmed steadied SRH innings with a 67-run partnership. While Reddy departed for 37, Ahmed continued his momentum to notch up his maiden IPL fifty. The visitors finished their innings at a staggering 266/7 – their third 250+ score in T20 cricket.
The Capitals began their chase brightly. Prithvi Shaw smashed four boundaries off the very first over but was dismissed the next ball. David Warner followed suit in the next over, falling prey to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. However, Jake Fraser-McGurk took the attack to Washington Sundar, scoring a blistering 30 off his over. He continued his rampage, notching the fastest IPL fifty for DC (by balls taken) in just 15 balls – also the fastest in IPL 2024. Abhishek Porel joined the party with some aggressive batting before departing for 42. DC found themselves well in contention at 138/4 after 10 overs.
Rishabh Pant tried to revive the chase with a gritty 44 off 35 balls, but a tight bowling spell from T Natarajan changed the course of the match. Natarajan bagged four wickets for just 19 runs, registering his career-best bowling figures in T20 cricket. SRH eventually secured a comfortable victory by 67 runs.
Travis Head was adjudged the Player of the Match for his swashbuckling knock of 89 runs off just 32 balls.
With this win, Sunrisers Hyderabad climbed to second place in the points table with five wins from seven games. Delhi Capitals, on the other hand, slumped to seventh place with just three wins from eight games.
Scorecard:
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 266-7, Overs 20, Travis Head 89, Kuldeep Yadav 4/55
Delhi Capitals: 199, Overs 19.1, Jake Fraser-McGurk 65, T Natarajan 4/19