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In the second qualifier of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, Delhi Capitals (DC) defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 17 runs at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
The victory helped DC to qualify in the final of the tournament where they will meet Mumbai Indians (MI) on Tuesday (November 10).
Chasing the challenging target of 190 runs, Sunrisers did not have a pleasing start as they lost captain David Warner (2) in the second over of the innings.
Manish Pandey (21) and Priyam Garg (17) did try to stabilise the innings by adding 31 runs for the second wicket. However, Marcus Stoinis gave the double blow to SRH as he dismissed both Garg and Pandey in the fifth over.
Then, Kane Williamson and Jason Holder steadied the ship by forming a crucial partnership of 44 runs for the fourth wicket before Axar Patel sent Holder back into the dugout.
As things were looking difficult for SRH, Williamson formed another vital partnership with youngster Abdul Samad. The duo added 57 runs off 31 balls for the fifth wicket. Both Williamson and Samad kept on tickling the scoreboard and finding the boundaries.
Meanwhile, the asking run-rate was still quite high and in order to combat that the Kiwi skipper went for a biggie in the 17th over but found the fielder. Williamson scored a fighting knock of 67 runs off 45 balls including five fours and four sixes.
The 19th over bowled by Kagiso Rabada turned the tables for DC as he picked up three wickets to take his side over the finish line.
In the end, SRH only managed to post 172/8, losing the contest by 17 runs.
Dhawan, Hetmyer guide DC to 189/3
Earlier, Stoinis, who was promoted to the top of the batting order, formed an opening partnership of 86 runs with Shikhar Dhawan. Stoinis was sent to open the innings because DC dropped Prithvi Shaw in the must-win contest and picked Praveen Dubey in his place.
Stonis smashed 38 off 27 balls before Rashid Khan cleaned him up in the ninth over. Dhawan, on the other hand, kept on scoring the boundaries to keep the run-flow high. The left-handed batsman stitched a 40-run stand with DC captain Shreyas Iyer (21) for the second wicket before Holder dismissed him in the 14th over.
Dhawan completed his fourth fifty of IPL 2020 and was looking set to score his third century in the competition. But Sandeep Sharma adjudged Dhawan leg-before-wicket in the penultimate over of DC innings. The 34-year-old explosive batsman scored 78 off 50 deliveries studded with eight boundaries, including two sixes.
Dhawan also became the second batsman to touch 600-run benchmark in IPL 2020 after Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) skipper KL Rahul.
Shimron Hetmyer made a valuable contribution in the later stage with unbeaten 42 from 22 balls at a phenomenal strike-rate of 190.91 to take DC to 189/3.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
Congratulations #DelhiCapitals on reaching the finals. The only active IPL team to have not ever played a final makes it to the final. 2020… Aur bahut kuch dikhayega.#DCvSRH pic.twitter.com/M80Mth8B8J
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) November 8, 2020
Boys we did it 👏👏👏@DelhiCapitals finally made it to the finals!!
I’m overwhelmed with joy right now! Maximum team effort!! What a wonderful, well deserved win!! 💙🙌
On to the next one!! 💪 #DelhiCapitals #SRHvsDC
— Ishant Sharma (@ImIshant) November 8, 2020
You will see @DelhiCapitals dominating the @ipl for the next few seasons,regardless of what happens in the final. Well done on reaching the #ipl finals for the first time👏👏
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) November 8, 2020
Positivity is the name of the game now ! Brilliant all round display by @DelhiCapitals , @SDhawan25 led the way with the bat and #Stoinis with both the bat and ball! Grt fight by @SunRisers and #KaneWilliamson! Looks like an exciting #IPL2020 final on Tuesday! #SRHvsDC
— Kris Srikkanth (@KrisSrikkanth) November 8, 2020
Trophy aaye jaaye hamare khayalon mein 🥺#DCvSRH #Dream11IPL #YehHaiNayiDilli pic.twitter.com/4AQqMfVHEe
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) November 8, 2020
SRH can be very proud of this season. So many problems with injuries but fought well. Gabbar special was needed for DC to reach finals.#SRHvsDC #IPL2020
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) November 8, 2020
Brilliant #KaneWilliamson! Just not your day… #ProGyaan #ipl2020 #Qualifier2 #DCvsSRH
— Pragyan Ojha (@pragyanojha) November 8, 2020
Congratulations @DelhiCapitals on reaching the finals!! So, now its gonna be @mipaltan vs Delhi Capitals. Excited for the finals 👏👏 @IPL #DCvSRH #IPL2020
— Vinay Kumar R (@Vinay_Kumar_R) November 8, 2020
Here it is! @DelhiCapitals win by 17 runs and march into the finals of #Dream11IPL 2020. pic.twitter.com/RRL8Ez8x1h
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) November 8, 2020
It has taken 13 seasons for @DelhiCapitals to reach their maiden IPL final.
Congrats. #IPL2020 #IPLfinal #MIvsDC
— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) November 8, 2020
https://twitter.com/prithinarayanan/status/1325495505506476032
To good @DelhiCapitals tonight! To much for #KaneSuperman to do this time 😗 Congrats DC’s 👏 @IPL
— Danny Morrison (@SteelyDan66) November 8, 2020
💔💔
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) November 8, 2020
DC will take on MI in the IPL 2020 final.#IPL #cricket pic.twitter.com/V0mM2PZp42
— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) November 8, 2020