Super Over in Chennai as Delhi Capitals beat Sunrisers Hyderabad

Just the other day, I was telling my son that the IPL of 2021 is having too many one-sided encounters. Yes, he has been treated to some great batting and bowling performances but for the neutral viewers with most matches not going into the final over, it was kind of boring.

IPL over the years has been synonymous with close encounters with most matches getting decided in the final over. A couple of matches this season have been thrillers but most have been too one-sided. The last few days we saw one after another match turning out to be real duds. It was not supposed to be that way because all the 8 teams are equally matched but with many players not being in good form, some teams have hardly been competitive.

Finally, we got our first “tie” of the season yesterday when Delhi Capitals played Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai. It didn’t look so going into the last 2 overs but some lusty blows by Sujith at the end gave us our first Super Over of the season. One super over might not have been enough because Delhi Capitals just made it in the last delivery and we got to remember that Sunrisers lost a run because David Warner ran a centimetre short in the super over. 

So what were the hits and misses from yesterday’s match? Let’s have a look.

The hits:

Kane Williamson brings in a lot of stability in the Sunrisers’ middle order. The team has an inexperienced middle order and his presence makes a world of difference to this team. Yesterday it was Williamson who held the team together after the early loss of David Warner. With him, in the crease, the other batsmen could play more freely. It’s a different matter that their batsmen faltered once again and an easy chase got botched up in the middle overs by losing too many wickets. That the match went up to the super over in the end was only possible because Kane Williamson was there till the very end.

We are seeing a different avatar of Prithvi Shaw this season. I love watching him bat because he plays some breathtaking shots while he is in the crease. I have hardly ever seen him getting bogged down and it’s been lovely watching him bat this season. The first three balls of the match were dispatched to the boundary yesterday and it was a run out at the end which saw him getting dismissed after scoring a half-century.

It was great to see Axar Patel back in the team. He had a great season in the test matches and his straighter deliveries got him a lot of wickets in both Chennai and Ahmedabad earlier this year. The straighter deliveries were once again difficult to pick and he finished with 2/26 in his quota of 4 overs.

Avesh Khan has been a revelation this season. He has picked up the pace but most importantly he is maintaining a good line and length. He has bowled in the power plays and he has bowled at the death too but on all occasions, he has come out trumps. The best thing is that he is picking up wickets too. Yesterday he picked up three and he is now one of the top wicket-takers this season. IPL 2021 has been good for the Indian players thus far with Indian uncapped bowlers leading the purple cap race. 

When the super over started, I was surprised to see David Warner coming out to bat with Kane Williamson. If there was one man who looked in great touch, it was Johny Bairstow and hence I was astonished to see that he didn’t come out to bat. He had scored 38 runs off just 18 balls and it defied logic why he was not preferred instead of David Warner. That one wrong decision probably cost Sunrisers the match.

The Misses:

Vijay Shankar and Kedar Jhadav are supposed to hold the middle order together for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Priyam Garg and Abdul Samad are warming the benches only because they lack experience but the experience didn’t help yesterday because both Shankar and Jhadav failed miserably and Sunrisers were put under further stress with them not been able to score boundaries.

With Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Natarajan not available due to injuries, it was important for Khaleel Ahmed to play a leading role. Unfortunately, he couldn’t replicate the form that he showed in the previous match which meant that Delhi Capitals were never under pressure other than when Rashid Khan bowled. With Siddarth Kaul also struggling, Sunrisers were unable to get breakthroughs in the middle or death overs. The fielding and especially the catching was a lot to be desired too.

Sunrisers’ decision to play Sujith turned out to be a good one because he bowled economically and with the bat his 14 off 6 balls helped Sunrisers tie the match.

What to look forward to?

Delhi Capitals have been playing very consistently throughout the season but they have some weaknesses which have not been exposed yet by other teams and one of them is their not-so-strong middle order. With Ashwin leaving the IPL midway, it would be interesting to see who replaces him going forward. I would suggest Lalit Yadav come back in place of Ashwin because it strengthens their batting order too. Rabada’s form is a cause for concern and I would live to see Woakes or Nortje coming back into the playing XI.

For Sunrisers Hyderabad it’s back to square one and going by the current form, it’s looking highly difficult for them to get into the top 4. Like Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders the inexperienced players are not playing to their potential and this, in turn, is putting more pressure on the senior players. If the senior international players don’t play as per their potential I do not think any of these 3 teams will progress to the playoffs.

This situation is not good for IPL because it effectively makes it a 5 team tournament. I hope I am proved wrong in the future matches and these bottom-rung teams come up with some stellar performances.

So what do you think – will Sunrisers be able to make a comeback in the tournament? What changes would you suggest?

Please write in as we move to Ahmedabad today where KKR takes on Punjab Kings in the evening.

PS. You are on your own journey so don’t compare with others instead make your life worth remembering.

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