SunRisers Hyderabad pulled off a thrilling three-wicket victory in Match 14 of IPL6 over Delhi Daredevils in a low-scoring affair that went all the way till the last over.
Delhi put up a good fight defending a low total of 114 at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi on Friday.
But with six runs needed in the final over, Dale Steyn hit a couple and then smashed a straight boundary to give Hyderabad’s third win this season.
Delhi remain winless losing all their four matches.
Chasing a relatively easy target, Hyderabad lost a wicket early but Parthiv Patel (19) and Kumar Sangakkara (28) looked in the comfort zone to take the game all the way through.
But once both batsmen fell in quick succession, Delhi bowlers bowled exceptionally well to get back the momentum in the hosts’ favour.
Ashish Reddy (16), Amit Mishra (16 not out) and Steyn (9) provided the late fireworks to snatch victory with four balls to spare.
Delhi skipper Mahela Jayawardene was upbeat despite being winless after four matches.
"Not really worried. Playing some good cricket. A couple of good games have not gone our way. We have to keep improving. The bowling was pretty good, but I don't think we assessed the wicket well. we were looking at 160-170, but the wicket was more like 140. If we had assessed the wicket better, the shot selection would have been better," he said complementing the bowlers for the magnificent fight back.
"The bowlers did a good job and created opportunities for us, but we didn't have enough on the board. Nadeem has been some talent for us. Kedar is a guy we know can deliver for us."
SunRisers are emerging as the dark horses in the compeititon after their third win in four outings.
"Proud to lead the Hyderabad Sunrisers," said skipper Kumar Sangakkara. "A hard-fought win today. We should have finished with three-four overs in hand. We didn't have the greatest of the starts, but in the middle too we got bogged down."
Earlier, It was a bowlers’ day out as Hyderabad put up an impressive display on the field to restrict Delhi to a meagre 114 for eight in 20 overs after opting to bat first.
Despite having the swashbuckling Virender Sehwag returning to the squad, it did not have any effect as Hyderabad bowlers put up a great show.
The most impressive being South African pacer Dale Steyn who just conceded 11 runs in his four overs but picked up two wickets.
Ishant Sharma broke the backbone of Delhi picking up skipper Mahela Jayawardene and Sehwag early on after which Delhi could never recover.
Thisara Perera also bowled impressively scalping two wickets.
Thanks to some lusty hits from Kedar Jadhav who smashed two sixes and a boundary during his 20-ball 30, Delhi made a respectable score.
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD INNINGS
Steyn smashes a superb boundary and its all over for Delhi. Hyderabad secure three-wicket win with four balls to spare.
It all comes down to the final over. Hyderabad need 6 off 6 balls. Can Delhi stop them?
Mishra hammers a boundary and Hyderabad inch closer to victory. Yadav needs to get the wicket.
A brilliant save from Nadeem. Easily saves two crucial runs and Hyderabad are 103 for 7 in 18 overs.
T Perera c Botha b Pathan 2 (3b 0x4 0x6)
Perera is gone. Good bowling from Pathan and a great catch from Botha in the deep. Hyderabad 100 for 7.
Mahela not happy after Mishra blocked a throw from the fielder which got them another extra run. Umpire Aleem Dar takes third umpire help and clears Mishra.
Mahela gives the ball to Pathan. Can he stop Hyderabad?
Hyderabad 97 for 6 in 17 overs. Delhi needs wicket at this stage.
Mishra strikes a big one and a great boundary. Smiles at the Hyderabad dug-out.
A Ashish Reddy b Morkel 16 (9b 2x4 0x6)
Morkel bowls his last over. Strikes in his first ball. Hyderabad 89 for six. Delhi fielders celebrating.
Two boundaries from Reddy changes the frame of the game. But Delhi still have a chance if they keep it tight. Hyderabad are 89 for 5 in 16 overs.
Amazing efforts from Delhi players. It's getting tougher for Hyderabad as they reach 76 for 5 in 15 overs.
G Vihari c Botha b Morkel 17 (23b 0x4 1x6)
Vihari succumbs to Morkel. Hyderabad look to be in deep trouble. Dehli all fired up. Hyderabad 71 for 5.
Fantastic bowling from Nadeem. Gets White stumped. Hyderabad need 46 from 36 balls.
C White st Jadhav b Nadeem 4 (8b 0x4 0x6)
Pace is back and Morkel bowls. And that's nice over conceding only two runs from that over. Hyderabad need 50 from 42 balls.
A great opportunity lost. Vihari survives after Kaul messes it up in the deep. Hyderabad 63 for 3 in 12 overs.
White comes in and there is something interesting happening in the middle. A sweep shot and the ball is locked in his helmet grill. Fielders help him remove it.
It's becoming increasingly difficult to bat on. The wicket is getting slower. Spinners capitalizing on it. It's turning out to be an interesting battle in the middle
K Sangakkara c Sehwag b Botha 28 (28b 4x4 0x6)
Botha strikes. He grabs an important wicket of skipper Sangakkara and Hyderabad is 54 for 3
Nadeem continues to bowl well. Hyderabad 51 for 2 in 10 overs.
Nadeem giving a tough time to the batsmen. A cheeky run gets Hyderabad to 50.
Another nice over from Botha. Hyderabad 49 for 2 in 9 overs.
Good over from Nadeem. Wicket and three runs from his first over. Hyderabad 46 for 2 in 8 overs.
Hanuma Vihari is in the middle.
P Patel c & b Nadeem 19 (19b 4x4 0x6)
A soft dismissal and Patel goes for 19.
Mahela brings in Nadeem. So spinners from both ends.
Hyderabad going great at the moment. Sanga on 23 and Patel on 18. Hyderabad 43 for 1 in 7 overs.
Botha introduced into the attack. But for Sanga it does not matter. Steps out for a big one and Morkel attempts for a catch in the deep and does not succeed.
Sanga and Patel carry on with their tasks perfectly. Boundaries coming in frequently as Hyderabad reach 38 for 1 in 6 overs.
Umesh Yadav comes in to bowl. Sanga welcomes him with a lofted boundary.
Both left-handers looking good as Hyderabad scores 25 for 1 in 5 overs.
Sanga gets going with a fine boundary through the covers. And follows with another as Hyderabad reach 15 for 1.
Patel gets the first boundary. Hyderabad 7 for 1 in two overs.
Another great over for Delhi. Kaul gets a super maiden. What a start for the debutant.
A Reddy run out 1 (8b 0x4 0x6)
That's what Delhi needs to do. Great fielding from Nadeem and Reddy is run out for 1.
Siddarth Kaul makes his debut for Delhi.
Only two runs from that over one coming off from a wide. Good start for Delhi and Pathan. Hyderabad 2 for 0 in 1 over.
Akshath Reddy and Parthiv Patel open for Hyderabad.
DELHI DAREDEVILS INNINGS
Misfield gets Delhi a boundary of the final ball and Delhi are 114 for 8 in 20 overs.
A great shot from Jadhav, straight six and Delhi are 109 for 8.
Delhi reach 100 in 18.5 overs.
Can Delhi get to 100? 10 balls remain with two wickets in hand.
S Nadeem b Steyn 0 (1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
Steyn does the damage now. Rattles the stumps of Nadeem for a duck.
M Morkel c Ashish Reddy b Perera 0 (1b 0x4 0x6)
Another one for Perera. Delhi is in serious trouble at 96 for 7 in 18 overs.
I Pathan c Vihari b Perera 23 (30b 1x4 0x6)
Further trouble for Delhi as Pathan falls. Goes for a big shot and holes one in the deep. Delhi 95 for 6 in 17.3 overs.
A good over for Delhi after a real long time. A boundary, a six and a few extras meant 17 runs coming off that over as they reach 93 for 5 in 17 overs.
Jadhav gets a six from the Free Hit. Delhi needs more of this.
Finally Delhi gets some runs. Sharma's first ball is sent to the boundary by Jadhav and it's a noball. Free Hit
Delhi are 76 for five in 16 overs.
Pathan needs to fire now. With just five overs to play, Delhi badly need big ones.
Delhi crawl to 67 for 5 in 14 overs. Mishra concedes just 15 runs from his four overs.
Mishra strikes again and Juneja goes.
M Juneja c White b Mishra 15 (22b 0x4 0x6)
Delhi does not seem to be heading anywhere and even reaching the three-digit mark looks a tough one now.
Steyn brought into the attack. And as always he continues to dominate. Nothing right happening for Delhi at the moment except for a boundary coming off a top edge in the last ball from Pathan. After 11 overs, Delhi get to 50, the slowest in the IPL so far.
Another impressive over from Mishra. Delhi 46 for 4 in 10 overs.
Irfan Pathan is in. Can he change the fortunes for Delhi?
J Botha c Reddy b Anand Rajan 9 (14b 1x4 0x6)
Hyderabad bowlers continue to impress. Botha gets a boundary but the Ranjan gets Botha the next ball. Delhi 44 for 4 in 9 overs.
Excellent over from Mishra. Delhi are just 35 for 3 in 7 overs. They desperately need big ones now.
Mishra comes into attack. Is it more trouble for Delhi?
Hyderabad bowlers continue to dominate. Delhi crawl to 32 for 3 in 7 overs. It's been 18 balls since the last boundary came in.
Runs drying up for Delhi. Credit to some great bowling from Hyderabad. Delhi are just 29 for 3 in 6 overs
Great over for Sharma, Delhi are 28 for 3 in 5 overs
V Sehwag c White b Sharma 12 (10b 2x4 0x6)
Ishant Sharma gets his the big one immediately. Picks Sehwag and Delhi in trouble at 26 for 3.
M Jayawardene c Steyn b Sharma 12 (14b 1x4 1x6)
Ishant strikes and gets the Delhi skipper. Steyn takes a cool catch in the deep. Delhi 26 for 2.
A beautiful cover drive from Jayawardene as Delhi reach 25 for 1 in 4 overs.
Sehwag cuts one nicely for his second boundary off Perera.
Steyn bowls another great over. Just four runs coming off that. Delhi 16 for 1 in 4 overs.
That's Sehwag for you. Nicely played it to the third-man boundary. Delhi 12 for 1 in 2 overs.
Sehwag looks fresh. Taking some real quick singles.
Huge six by Mahela, eases some pressure off Delhi.
D Warner c Anand Rajan b Steyn 0 (4b 0x4 0x6)
Wicket maiden over for Steyn who begins with a bang. Three dot balls and the South African picks Warner. Warner gone for a duck.
Steyn could have got another but Mahela survives with wicketkeeper failing to latch on. Great bowling. Delhi 0 for 1
Sehwag walks in and the crowd gets noisier. Warner to open with him.
Here's the teams
Delhi Daredevils: V Sehwag, D Warner, M Jayawardene, J Botha, M Juneja, K Jadhav†, I Pathan, M Morkel, S Kaul, S Nadeem, U Yadav
Sunrisers Hyderabad: P Reddy, P Patel, K Sangakkara, C White, N Perera, G Vihari, A Ashish Reddy, A Mishra, D Steyn, I Sharma, Anand Rajan.
SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) have won the toss and elected to bat against Delhi Daredevils (DD) in Match 14 of IPL6 at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi on Friday.
The big news is opener Virender Sehwag who missed the first two matches is back.