Chasing a modest target of 164, Delhi Capitals made a steady start, with Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser-McGurk carefully negotiating Mohammed Shami’s opening over. However, McGurk broke the shackles in the second over, launching a slog sweep over long-on for six off Abhishek Sharma.
Sensing an opportunity, DC’s aggressive duo went on the offensive, putting the Sunrisers' bowlers under pressure in the powerplay. Faf took the lead, dismantling Shami with classical strokeplay. He smashed the first ball of the third over for a six and followed it up with two consecutive boundaries, extracting 15 runs from the over.
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By the end of the powerplay, DC had raced to 52/0. Faf kept the momentum going, taking on Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins with a six and a four. He reached his 38th IPL fifty off 26 balls with a quick single but fell soon after to debutant Zeeshan Ansari.
Despite the setback, McGurk kept up the scoring rate, finding boundaries with clever shot-making. However, he too perished to Ansari, lobbing a simple return catch after a brief yet impactful knock of 38 off 32 balls.
KL Rahul, returning to the XI, struck a massive 90m six off Shami but struggled for fluency. His stay ended at 15 when he missed a sweep, allowing the ball to clip the bails, handing Ansari his third wicket.
Despite losing wickets, DC remained in control, thanks to Abhishek Porel and Tristan Stubbs. Porel sealed the victory in style, smashing a six to complete a dominant seven-wicket win.
SRH Collapse After Fiery Start
Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad struggled after opting to bat first, slipping to 37/4 in the powerplay. Aniket Verma (74 off 41 balls) and Heinrich Klaasen (32 off 19 balls) attempted a rescue act with a 77-run partnership, but Kuldeep Yadav (3/22) and Starc (5/35) ensured they were bowled out for 163 in 18.4 overs.
SRH's troubles began early when Abhishek Sharma was run out in the first over by Vipraj Nigam. Starc then struck twice in the third over, removing Ishan Kishan (2) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (0) in quick succession, reducing SRH to 25/3.
Travis Head attempted to counterattack but was cleaned up by Starc for 22, marking the seventh time the pacer had dismissed him. SRH were reeling at 37/4 in just 4.1 overs.
Klaasen and Aniket steadied the innings, with Klaasen striking Starc for a six and a four to take SRH past 50 in 4.5 overs. They accelerated, reaching their 50-run stand in just 22 balls. Aniket, in particular, dominated against spin, smashing Axar Patel for two sixes.
At the halfway mark, SRH were 105/4, with Aniket (40*) and Klaasen (31*) at the crease. Their partnership was eventually broken when Mohit Sharma dismissed Klaasen for 32, courtesy of a well-judged running catch by Nigam. SRH were 114/5 in 10.5 overs.
Kuldeep Yadav then removed Abhinav Manohar (4) before striking again to dismiss Pat Cummins (2), leaving SRH at 123/7 in 14 overs.
Aniket continued his counterattack, smashing Axar for a four and two sixes in the 15th over. He brought up his maiden IPL fifty off 34 balls, featuring four boundaries and three sixes. However, his impressive innings came to an end when he was caught near the boundary by Jake Fraser-McGurk off Kuldeep for 74. SRH’s hopes of a strong finish faded as they collapsed to 148/8 in 15.5 overs.
Starc returned to clean up the tail, dismissing Harshal Patel (5) and Wiaan Mulder in quick succession, wrapping up SRH’s innings at 163 in 18.4 overs.
Starc finished with a brilliant 5/35, while Kuldeep’s 3/22 and Mohit Sharma’s economical spell (1/25) ensured DC had complete control over the game from start to finish.