After winning the toss and choosing to bat first in 34th Match of IPL 2023 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, DC found themselves in trouble at 62/5 in 8 overs. However, Manish Pandey (34 runs off 27 balls) and Axar Patel (34 runs off 34 balls) helped DC recover and reach a defendable total of 144/9 in 20 overs.
In response, SRH got off to a slow start at 69/2 in 11.3 overs. Despite vital contributions from Mayank Agarwal, Heinrich Klassen, and Washington Sundar, two excellent death overs from Anrich Nortje and Mukesh Kumar restricted SRH to 137/6 in 20 overs.
Let’s take a look at 3 positives for SRHdespite the loss:
1) Stunning all-round display from Washington Sunder
Washington Sundar had an excellent spell, conceding just 28 runs in the 4 overs he bowled and taking 3 wickets, including the crucial wicket of David Warner.
In addition to his wickets, Sundar also ran out Manish Pandey. With the bat, Sundar played a brilliant cameo of 24* runs off 15 balls, bringing SRH within reach of the DC total.
2) Bhuvneshwar Kumar returned to his best bowling rhythm.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has not been at his best this IPL season, found his rhythm again.
In the 4 overs he bowled, Kumar conceded only 11 runs and took 2 wickets at an impressive economy rate of 2.75. He dismissed opener Phil Salt for a ‘Golden Duck’ and took the in-form Axar Patel wicket in the death overs.
3) 3 Mayank Agarwal and Klassen deliver with the bat for SRH
In the first half of the SRH innings, Mayank Agarwal (49 runs off 39 balls) played an anchoring role, holding one end up. He hit seven fours in his knock and scored at a decent strike rate of 125.64.
Heinrich Klassen (31 runs off 19 balls) continued his good form with a quick-fire cameo that included three boundaries and a six.
Klassen came close to taking his side home before being dismissed in the 19th over. Given his form, the SRH management should consider moving him up the batting order as he is one of the few batters in the side consistently scoring runs.
