The Delhi Capitals (DC) defeated the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in a thrilling encounter in the IPL 2023, thanks to a spectacular final over from their star bowler Mukesh. The match went down to the wire, with both teams putting in a strong performance, but it was the Capitals who came out on top, winning by 7 runs.
The Capitals won the toss and elected to bat first, and their opening batsmen got off to a solid start, putting on a partnership of 45 runs before Prithvi Shaw was dismissed for 22. However, Shikhar Dhawan continued to bat well and scored a brilliant half-century, eventually getting out for 67 off just 45 balls. The Capitals were able to post a challenging total of 175/4 in their 20 overs, with some late hitting from Rishabh Pant and Marcus Stoinis.
In response, the Sunrisers got off to a decent start, with their openers adding 40 runs in just 5 overs. However, they lost wickets at regular intervals and found themselves struggling at 109/5 in the 15th over. But some brilliant hitting from their middle order batsmen, including Kane Williamson and Manish Pandey, got them back into the game.
The match went into the final over, with the Sunrisers needing 16 runs to win. Mukesh, who had bowled brilliantly earlier in the innings, was given the responsibility of bowling the last over. He started off with a dot ball, which put pressure on the Sunrisers batsmen. The second ball was a wide, which further increased the pressure. Mukesh then bowled two more dot balls, leaving the Sunrisers needing 16 off 2 balls.
The next ball was a wide again, which meant that the Sunrisers needed 15 off just one ball. Mukesh then delivered a perfect yorker, which the batsman could only manage to squeeze for a single, giving the Capitals a well-deserved victory.
Mukesh was the hero for the Capitals, finishing with figures of 3/30 in his 4 overs and bowling an exceptional final over to win the game. Shikhar Dhawan was named the man of the match for his brilliant innings with the bat.
The victory takes the Capitals to the top of the IPL 2023 points table, with 5 wins from 7 matches. The Sunrisers, on the other hand, are struggling at the bottom of the table with just 2 wins from 7 matches. They will need to turn things around quickly if they want to make it to the playoffs
