Abhishek Sharma struck his second IPL century with a brilliant 68-ball 135 not out, laced with 10 sixes and an equal number of fours, while Eshan Malinga’s four-wicket spell (4 for 42) helped Sunrisers Hyderabad secure a comfortable 47-run victory over Delhi Capitals at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Tuesday, April 21. Batting first, SRH piled up 242 for 2 in 20 overs after being asked to take the lead, then kept DC under pressure as they finished on 195 for 9.
Brief scores and match outcome
- Sunrisers Hyderabad: 242/2 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 135* off 68; Heinrich Klaasen 37* off 13).
- Delhi Capitals: 195/9 in 20 overs.
- Key bowling: Axar Patel 1-23 for SRH; Eshan Malinga 4-32 (as referenced in the brief scores).
- Top DC scores: Nitish Rana 57 off 30; Sameer Rizvi 41 off 28.
- Result: SRH won by 47 runs.
SRH’s innings: a Powerplay foundation and a record-breaking surge
SRH’s start was explosive from the outset, even if the opening numbers weren’t quite at the very top end of their usual Powerplay fireworks. When Powerplay totals of 105, 84 or 75 are common, a 67-run first phase might look modest—but it was still only the eighth time Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head managed to survive that opening stretch, and also just the second instance this season where they did so with a Powerplay score of 67, which remained the lowest among those eight innings.
Abhishek and Head’s tempo
- Abhishek scored 42 off 19 in the Powerplay, while Travis Head made 23 off 17.
- Abhishek reached his 50 in the ninth over, doing so in 25 balls—his slowest IPL half-century at Hyderabad up to that point, with only three sixes when he got there.
- Even with that relative caution, the opening partnership added 97 runs in the first nine overs before Axar Patel dismissed Head.
From acceleration to a century on the big stage
Once the initial consolidation was done, the scoring rate accelerated sharply. The number of sixes climbed quickly, rising from three to nine in quick time. Abhishek’s first fifty had come off 25 balls, but the second arrived even faster—off only 22 deliveries. He then hammered his way to a 47-ball century, the ninth T20 hundred of his career.
- That century was his joint-highest T20 mark as an Indian in the format.
- It came in his 184th T20 innings, making it the third quickest to reach nine T20 tons.
- He also reached 350 T20 sixes during the innings.
Kuldeep Yadav and Nitish Rana were hit hardest by the onslaught, and by the end of the 15th over SRH had raced to 183. Ishan Kishan was the only notable wicket to fall during the carnage, with Rana managing to deflect the ball onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end to remove the SRH skipper.
Late overs: Abhishek slows, Klaasen finishes
As the innings progressed, Abhishek’s strike became slightly less punishing. After striking a four off T Natarajan—on the 57th ball of his knock—he went without a boundary until the fourth ball of the final over, his 67th delivery. The innings also stood out as his longest in the IPL, with his previous personal best being a 55-ball 141 against Punjab Kings in Hyderabad last season.
He may have eased off, but Heinrich Klaasen ensured the closing overs stayed fruitful. Klaasen struck an unbeaten 37 off 13 balls, including three sixes and as many fours. Two of his sixes came off Ngidi in the 18th over, and in the final over two fours plus a six arrived off Mukesh Kumar, with 20 runs coming in that over.
DC’s chase: a strong start, then a collapse driven by wickets and required-rate pressure
Delhi Capitals didn’t take long to find rhythm after Pathum Nissanka’s early departure. Nitish Rana and KL Rahul powered the chase well, leaving DC ahead of SRH at the halfway mark. At 107 after 10 overs, DC’s total was three runs better than what SRH had managed at the same stage in their innings. Of those 107, Rahul and Rana contributed 59 during the Powerplay, striking the fence regularly.
- Eshan Malinga also dropped a catch off his own bowling, giving Rahul a reprieve.
Rana’s fifty and a sudden setback
The 100-run milestone arrived in the 10th over when Rana struck a four off Sakib Hussain to move to a quick 27-ball fifty. However, Rahul fell in the same over—he struck a full toss straight to deep backward square, handing SRH a key breakthrough.
The big stumble
From 107 for 1, DC slid to 107 for 4 as wickets fell in quick succession following Rahul’s dismissal. Malinga accounted for both left-handers: Rana lofted the ball to a diving Abhishek, and Miller inside-edged one onto the stumps.
Sameer Rizvi and Tristan Stubbs kept the boundary count moving, helping DC push to 155 for 4 at the end of the 15th over. Yet the chase was already under heavy arithmetic pressure, with the required rate climbing to 17.6. Stubbs added to his tally with two fours off Malinga, but the bowler struck again—removing Stubbs after the South African attempted a reverse-scoop that went wrong.
- Harsh Dubey entered the attack in the 17th over when DC needed 19 an over.
- The required rate became 22 at the end of that over.
- It rose further to 28.5 at the end of the 18th over, when Malinga finished his spell by taking the wicket of Ashutosh Sharma.
Sakib kept the pressure tight, conceding only 6 in the over that followed, leaving DC needing 51 from the final six balls. Dubey then picked up three wickets in the last over to complete a clinical SRH win.
What’s next for Sunrisers and Delhi Capitals
With the win, Sunrisers Hyderabad moved up to third place and will travel to Jaipur to face Rajasthan Royals on April 25. Delhi Capitals, currently sitting fifth with three wins and three losses, take on table-toppers Punjab Kings in Delhi on the same day in an afternoon fixture.
