IPL 2023: Never-say-die spirit will keep Delhi Capitals in the hunt

It’s probably unimaginable to think that Delhi Capitals can qualify for the knockout stage of the IPL.

But you can’t blame them for thinking they can after the fearless display they produced to defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven run in a low-scoring thriller.

The passion and commitment that they brought to the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad will doubtless have given them a glimmer of hope.

After suffering five agonising defeats Delhi has incredibly won two on the bounce but still reside at the rock bottom of the IPL table with two wins from seven matches while Sunrisers enjoys a slight advantage on the aggregate run rate in ninth place.

Here are five key scenarios from the match.

Never-say-die attitude

Who would have thought that a team that struggled to put runs on the board would not be discouraged and bowled their hearts out to prise out an improbable victory?

Sport favours those who never give up and Delhi are starting to show that ‘no matter what’ attitude just as the tournament approaches the all-important halfway stage.

Axar’s pivotal role

After shoring up Delhi’s middle order with an invaluable 34 off as many deliveries, Axar Patel struck two priceless wickets for his team when he dismissed a set Mayank Agarwal (49 off 39 deliveries) and captain Aiden Markram (3 off 5).

To be a good all-rounder it takes a lot of discipline and Patel has that quality in surplus as he showed when conceding just 21 runs in four overs.

Lack of acceleration

If Patel was difficult to get away, so were Ishant Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, and Kuldeep Yadav who between them gave away just 67 runs.

Only Heinrich Klaasen (31 from 19) and Washington Sundar (24 not out from 15) were able to steal some runs but the dominance that they were looking for was never forthcoming,

Wicketless wonder

Earlier, Washington Sundar, who had gone wicketless in six matches, turned the tide in a span of six deliveries.

Undaunted by the lack of wickets, off-spinner Sundar exhibited maturity and the craft of a genuine game-changer by embracing flight instead of flatter deliveries to claim the scalps of David Warner (21 off 20), Sarfaraz Khan (10 from 9), and Aman Khan (4 from 2).

Running into trouble

Down on their knees at 65 for five Manish Pandey (34 from 27) and Axar Patel (34 from 344) helped Capitals rebuild the innings, taking the total to 128 for five before they ran into more trouble, literally.

Realising that runs were hard to come by, Pandey became the first of three run-out victims, attempting to steal a second which was not there.

Bizarrely Ripal Patel (5) and Anrich Nortje (2) also committed suicide in the same fashion.

Brief scores

Delhi Capitals beats Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven runs.

Delhi Capitals 144/9 (Axar Patel 34, Manish Pandey 34; Washington Sundar 3-28)

Sunrisers Hyderabad 137/6 (Mayank Agarwal 49, Heinrich Klaasen 31; Axar Patel 2-21)

Man-of-the-match: Axar Patel

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• IPL 2024