SRH vs DC emotional rollercoaster: Warner’s happy homecoming despite Capitals’ bating implosion and Bhuvi turning back the clock

Captain’s happy homecoming
It wasn’t quite MS Dhoni-like, but David Warner got a rapturous welcome at his previous IPL home. The Sunrisers Hyderabad faithful haven’t forgotten the talismanic skipper who led them to the 2016 title. When he won the toss, the noise level suggested as if the home team had won the right to take the decision. Even though the parting of ways was acrimonious in the middle of a lean patch for both Warner and his erstwhile team, the Aussie didn’t hide that he enjoyed a great time at Hyderabad and the Uppal pitch had been an ally for him over the years. He didn’t forget to thank the fans for their support. And the feeling was mutual as a fan commented: “He’ll always remain a legend at SRH”. And the result of the match was the icing on the cake later in the evening.

Flattering to deceive
Mitchell Marsh had been a sign of all that had gone wrong with Delhi Capitals in the first few games, during which he even flew home to get married. He had been struggling to get a run and not pulling his weight with the ball either. There was even debate over the length of the rope given to him. But after the early loss of Phil Salt, the tall Aussie came out with a positive intent. Marco Jansen had been one of the standout players for Sunrisers Hyderabad, but allowed Marsh to get going with two leg side deliveries. They were followed two with width, that were punched and driven through the offside. A pull through midwicket for three suggested it could be Marsh’s evening, but after another boundary, T Natarajan ended the fun getting an LBW reprieve overturned.

Capitals lose three in an over
It seemed Delhi Capitals had a death wish, judging the number of self-inflicted wounds. Washington Sundar is not the most penetrative spinner going around, and he generally relies on accuracy and frustrating batsmen. Both David Warner and Sarfaraz Khan went for hard sweeps and couldn’t keep their shots down. The strokes were anyway fraught with danger with a sweeper on the boundary. With the team already two down, a bit more circumspection was probably called for. However, next man Aman Hakim Khan showed immense irresponsibility when he charged down the ground and miscued a shot which found the rope due to a misfield. But he didn’t learn any lessons and went for a wild hoick next ball to be caught on the edge of the circle. Sundar probably couldn’t believe his luck; three wickets in an over, all with seemingly innocuous deliveries.

Blast from the past
The last ball of his spell was somehow reverse-lapped over short-third for a boundary, but for the rest of his four overs Bhuvneshwar Kumar was well nigh unhittable, showcasing the skills that once made him one of the best white-ball bowlers in the world. The veteran was on the money right from the start, when he had Phil Salt edging behind off a regulation out-swinger. Apart from the fortuitous shot that went to the boundary, runs came in singles against Bhuvneshwar, remarkable as he bowled the first, third, 18th and 20th overs to return figures of 2/11. When Axar Patel and Manish Pandey were threatening to take Delhi Capitals to a much bigger total than what looked likely at one stage, it was Bhuvneshwar who got the vital breakthrough with a pinpoint yorker. His full-length balls, change of pace and other variations were reminiscent of his best days. Bhuvneshwar didn’t deserve to finish on the losing side but the Sunrisers batsmen didn’t get the job done.
– Tushar Bhaduri