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Despite Sunrisers Hyderabad's sturdy start, chasing Delhi Capitals's rather anaemic 144, SRH batters failed to maintain the momentum.
Mayank Agarwal, who was dropped on 0, looked good in the Powerplay, but his brilliantly talented partner Harry Brook (7) struggled and tried to play a cheeky scoop shot against Anrich Nortje and perished in the 6th over.
The Capitals squeezed the flow of SRH runs in the middle overs; Hyderabad Coach Brian Lara must have been disconcerted to note a 26-ball phase without a boundary. Though Agarwal tried to maintain the tempo of the game, Sunrisers kept losing wickets in quick succession.
Just when SRH was rebuilding, Agarwal (49) perished, off Axar Patel.
Ishant Sharma, who is having something of a comeback moment in T20 cricket, and Kuldeep Yadav then removed Rahul Tripathi and Abhishek Sharma.
The Capitals bowlers maintained a tight line and length throughout the innings, with Axar and Kuldeep bowling stump-to-stump and not allowing the Sunrisers batters to get away.
Henrich Klassen and Washington Sundar resurrected SRH with a 41-run partnership and kept the hosts in the hunt.
Sundar scored 24 off 15 and brought the equation down to 23 off the last two overs. Nortje dismissed his countryman Klaasen in the penultimate over and spoiled the SRH party.
In the end, Mukesh Kumar showed immense composure and control under pressure, not allowing the Sunrisers batters to score the required runs. He successfully defended 13 runs in the final over with his pinpoint yorkers.
SRH needed nine runs from two balls with Washington on strike. But Mukesh cramped the batter and handed Hyderabad its fifth IPL 2023 loss and Delhi's second consecutive win of the season.
It was the first time in 16 IPL seasons that Delhi has successfully defended a first innings total under 150.
Overall, it was a brilliant bowling performance from Delhi who remained spirited even after being restricted to a below-par 144.
Hyderabad, on the other hand, found themselves in familiar territory, with their batters guilty of not applying themselves and stitching partnerships.