DC overcome SRH in Qualifier 2, enter maiden IPL final
Delhi Capitals beat an in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Qualifier 2 to enter their maiden final in the cash-rich tournament. DC had earlier finished second in the league stage and lost the Qualifier 1. However, they stood tall when it mattered most and will face Mumbai Indians in the final. DC posted 189/3 and then defended their score. Here's more.
The decision to send Marcus Stoinis to open the innings alongside Shikhar Dhawan worked for DC as the two added 86 runs. Dhawan added crucial stands alongside Shreyas Iyer and Shimron Hetmyer, before departing for 78. Hetmyer's powerful 22-ball 42* helped DC get past 180. In reply, SRH faltered in the powerplay overs, before Kane Williamson played superbly. However, it wasn't enough for SRH.
Shikhar Dhawan, who raced to 5,182 career IPL runs, smashed his 41st fifty. This was also his fourth fifty in the IPL 2020 season. The southpaw (603) became the second batsman to surpass the 600-run mark in IPL 2020 after KL Rahul (670). Notably, this is Dhawan's best tally in a single IPL edition. His previous best was 569 runs in IPL 2012.
This is the fifth successive season in which Dhawan has accumulated over 450 runs in an IPL edition. Dhawan, who registered six fours against SRH, now has the most fours in IPL 2020 (64). He surpassed Suryakumar Yadav (60). The DC opener has the joint-most fifty-plus scores this season (6). Dhawan is now the fourth-highest scorer for Delhi Capitals in the competition.
Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem (0/48) registered his worst figures in the competition. Jason Holder (1/50) also posted his worst bowling figures in the IPL. SRH skipper David Warner, who was dismissed for two, posted his lowest IPL score since 2016.
Rashid Khan (1/26) became the 32nd player to register 75 career IPL wickets. He steered clear of Munaf Patel (74). The wrist-spinner finished with 20 wickets from 16 games this season. He has the best economy rate in IPL 2020 (5.37). DC pacer Kagiso Rabada (4/29) extended his tally to 29 wickets this season (highest). He claimed his fourth four-wicket haul in the competition.
Kane Williamson (67) smashed his third fifty this season as he also went past the 300-run mark (317). This was also his best score in IPL 2020. The Kiwi batsman notched his 15th career IPL fifty as well.
