Delhi Daredevils snatched a thrilling four-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad to earn their second victory in the 2015 Indian Premier League (IPL) in four outings at the ACA-VDCA Stadium here on Saturday.
Two brilliant half-centuries from opener Shreyas Iyer (60) and captain JP Duminy (54) guided the Daredevils to a competitive total of 167/4 in 20 overs. In reply, the hosts could only manage 163/8 with Man of the Match Duminy also starring with the ball, taking 3/17 in four overs.
Opting to bat, Daredevils did not start well as they lost opening batsman Mayank Agarwal (1) cheaply in only the third over. But a 78-run second-wicket partnership between Iyer and Duminy revived the innings. The two performances were the only notable contributions from the Daredevils batsmen.
Iyer played a superb innings of 40 balls which included five sixes and three boundaries while South African Duminy hit five boundaries and two sixes.
Star batsman Yuvraj Singh, who was purchased by the Delhi franchise for a record Rs.16 crore, failed to click as he was caught while batting on 9.
Sri Lankan Angelo Mathews (15 not out) and wicketkeeper-batsman Kedar Jadhav (19 not out) played small cameos towards the end to propel the score beyond 160.
Medium pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the pick of the bowlers as he was the only one from Sunrisers to end with an economy rate of less than six per over. Bhuvneshwar, Dale Steyn, Praveen Kumar and Ashish Reddy all picked up a wicket each.
While chasing, the Sunrisers took off well with opening batsmen Shikhar Dhawan (18) and captain David Warner (28) striking a 50-run stand. However, a brilliant seventh over from spinner Duminy sent back both the openers and turned the match in favour of the visitors.
Ravi Bopara (41) and Lokesh Rahul (24) came out with crucial contributions for the home side but regular fall of wickets slowed down the flow of runs.
However, despite the fall of wickets, the Sunrisers were able to maintain a strong run rate, helping them needing only 10 runs off the last over.
But a brilliant last over from pace bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile helped the Daredevils allow the Sunrisers only five runs, bagging the match.
