The Delhi Capitals notched up their second win in a row as they defended a modest 144 to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 7 runs in Match 34 of TATA IPL 2023 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. A disciplined bowling effort from the Capitals helped them scalp regular wickets and maintain a stranglehold over the home side, despite a late surge from Heinrich Klaasen and Washington Sundar. Impact player Mukesh Kumar bowled a fantastic final over to defend 13 runs, taking the Capitals past the finish line. Earlier, Washington Sundar (4-0-28-3) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4-0-11-2) had broken the back of DC's batting, restricting them to 144/9 after Delhi Capitals captain David Warner had won the toss and elected to bat.
Chasing a target of 145, Sunrisers Hyderabad got off to a steady start as Mayank Agarwal (49 off 39) took them to 31/0 from five overs with a slew of cuts and well-timed drives. However, the Capitals tightened things from then on, bowled with discipline and didn't concede a boundary in the 6-10 over phase as the home side reached 58/1 at the halfway mark. Axar Patel (2-0-9-2), Ishant Sharma (2-0-19-1) and Kuldeep Yadav (2-0-11-1) then ran through the middle-order as the required rate kept climbing and went over 11 by the end of the 15th over.
With 51 needed off 24, Heinrich Klaasen (34 off 23) and Washington Sundar (30 off 25) released some pressure by taking 13 off the 16th over. However, Anrich Nortje (1-0-7-1) had Klaasen caught at deep cover after he was dropped by Mitchell Marsh off the previous ball. Sundar then whipped one over mid-wicket for a four in the same over and took a single off the last ball to keep the strike.
With 13 needed off the last over, Warner handed the ball to Mukesh Kumar again. Sundar (30 off 25) drove the first one through extra cover for a couple but Kumar followed with an excellent yorker to bowl a dot next ball. With 11 needed off four, Sundar thumped one to long on for just a single. Kumar then bowled another good yorker which Klaasen flicked to deep mid-wicket for just a single. With 9 needed off 2, Kumar bowled another very full delivery which brought just a single as Sundar whipped it to the deep mid-wicket fielder. The last one was another fantastic ball, very full outside off, and Jansen could only jam it to long off for a single as the Capitals won the match by 7 runs.
Overall, it was a disciplined performance from Delhi Capitals that won them the match. Their bowlers kept things tight and took wickets at regular intervals, while the batsmen contributed just enough to give them a defendable target. The Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers also put in a good shift, but their batsmen failed to capitalize on the starts they got, leading to their downfall.