Delhi’s courage overrides confident Hyderabad to reach the IPL final

By K.R. Nayar

 Marcus Stoinis' approach personified Delhi’s strategy to dominate Hyderabad from the start

Delhi Capitals’ triumph over a confident Sunrisers Hyderabad is a tale of a team that decided to brave the challenge by strengthening their minds to wipe away all their dark moments in this tournament. They were talked about as the best when the tournament began, and they did prove that until mid-way through the tournament. Then a series of defeats pushed them back completely. But in this match, they lived in the present and played with the belief that they are still the best.

Delhi’s gutsy actions began right from the toss. They bravely elected to bat, knowing well that teams who have batted second have won eight out of the nine games at the at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium.  It was a strategy to avoid the pressures of chasing a target. They sent out their hard-hitter and in-form Marcus Stoinis to open with Shikhar Dhawan.

Stoinis walked in with his chest spread out and muscles throbbing wanting to go for the kill. He personified his team’s decision to be positive and went on to execute his strokes and dominate the attack. When Jason Holder was hit for 18 runs in the fourth over, it was clear that Delhi was out to attack. In nine out of ten of their earlier matches, they had lost their first wicket within the second over. Yesterday, by the end of the power play they were in a commanding 65 for no loss.

Though Hyderabad’s willy spinner Rashid Khan ended Stoinis’ knock and celebrated in his usual manner of spreading his arms, unfortunately, it turned out to be his last celebration after scaring almost all top batsmen in this tournament. Dhawan, who had played second fiddle to Stoinis, took over and went on to record his 41st IPL half century.  West Indies batsman Shimron Hetmyer played the Caribbean style cricket hitting the ball powerfully. He announced it was a mistake to have kept him in the bench for so long.