• Shikhar Dhawan became second batsman after KL Rahul to reach 600-run mark in IPL 2020.

  • DC will now meet MI in the final of the tournament on November 10.

IPL 2020 – Twitter reactions: DC beat SRH by 17 runs to book a place in maiden IPL final
DC beat SRH by 17 runs (Image Source: Iplt20)

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:

https://twitter.com/prithinarayanan/status/1325495505506476032

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