press trust of india
Visakhapatnam, April 18: Skipper Jean-Paul Duminy (54, 41b, 5×4, 2×6 and 4/17) led from the front with a brilliant all-round display as Delhi Daredevils (DD) pipped Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by four runs in a thrilling match of IPL-VIII here Saturday
Duminy first smashed 54 as Daredevils scored a decent 167 for four and then chipped in with four wickets as visitors kept their nerves in the crucial stages of the nail-biting contest to restrict Sunrisers to 163 for eight and record their second successive win at the ACA-VDCA Stadium here.
Needing just 10 runs off the last over with Ashish Reddy and Karn Sharma at the crease, Nathan Coulter-Nile got the former run-out in the second ball of the over. Two balls later, with Hyderabad needing seven runs from two deliveries, Karn went for a huge hit towards the point boundary but fielder Mayank Agarwal went back to the edge of the rope, leapt up and effected a goalkeeper like save as he parried the ball back in play saving what looked like a sure six.
Mayank’s superb save made all the difference in the end and the last ball of the match resulted in Sharma getting out, handing Delhi their second consecutive win.
Earlier, Daredevils managed to get on board a competitive score, thanks to fearless batting by young Shreyas Iyer (60, 40b, 3×4, 5×6) and Duminy. The two put on 78 runs for the second wicket to establish a strong platform for the side.
Even though Yuvraj Singh (9) failed, Angelo Mathews (15 n o, 11b, 1×6) and Kedar Jadhav (19 n o, 12b, 1×4, 1×6) hit some lusty blows to take their team past the 160-run mark.
Sunrisers seemed to be on target notching up 50 in six overs only. But then Duminy bowling his off-spinners accounted for David Warner (28, 20b, 4×4), Shikhar Dhawan (18, 18b, 3×4), Ravi Bopara (41, 30b, 1×4, 3×6) and Eoin Morgan (one) to change the complexion of the game. Coulter-Nile, Mathews and Imran Tahir took a wicket each.
Comfortably placed at 110 for three in 15 overs, the Sunrisers lost Naman Ojha, Bopara and Morgan in space of seven deliveries and their chase failed to take off. But some good batting by Reddy (15) and Karn (19) made sure that the match went down to the wire.