Rain had the final say at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, as the match between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Delhi Capitals (DC) was abandoned after just 20 overs of play. Despite the shortened game, there was no shortage of action — Pat Cummins sparked a top-order collapse before DC staged a recovery through Ashutosh Sharma and Tristan Stubbs. Both teams shared a point each, with the result officially knocking Sunrisers Hyderabad out of playoff contention.
Delhi Capitals, meanwhile, remain fifth on the table with 13 points — just one behind the top four — keeping the playoff race wide open. DC will now need to win at least two of their remaining three games to reach 17 points and stay in the hunt for a playoff spot.
The Capitals got off to the worst possible start, losing four wickets for just 26 runs to register the second-lowest Powerplay score of the season — only behind SRH’s 24/4 against Mumbai Indians at the same venue. Cummins bowled a brilliant new-ball spell, opting for a good length rather than pitching it full, and was rewarded with key wickets. He struck with the very first ball, as the change in the opening pair backfired with Karun Nair dismissed for a duck.
Faf du Plessis was next to go, edging behind to the keeper, followed by Abishek Porel, who mistimed a flick in Cummins’ third over — remarkably, each of Cummins’ first three overs began with a dismissal. From the other end, Jaydev Unadkat maintained tight lines and stifled any momentum. Harshal Patel, introduced as the first change, struck with his trademark slower delivery to remove Axar Patel.
The pitch was clearly tricky — Unadkat’s dismissal of KL Rahul, who edged a seemingly innocuous delivery, was a perfect example. Rahul’s attempted drive might have found the middle on most other surfaces, but here it only reached the gloves of Ishan Kishan, who etched his name into the records as the first IPL keeper to pouch all top four wickets in an innings.
Stubbs began the rebuild with a 33-run partnership alongside Vipraj Nigam, who was unfortunately run out after a mix-up. Ashutosh came in as the Impact Player and injected life into the innings, scoring a vital 41 off 26 balls. His partnership of 66 with Stubbs helped DC add 61 runs in the final six overs, giving them a fighting chance after the top-order collapse, before the rain intervened.