It seems SRH have forgotten how to mount a run chase: Aakash Chopra

Hyderabad: The wheel of fortune is turning around for Delhi Capitals and the David Warner-led side put up an extremely disciplined bowling performance to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven runs in Match No. 34 of the IPL 2023, here.

Defending a modest 144, DC restricted SRH to 137/6 on Monday night, thereby recording their second successive victory on the back of five straight defeats.

The spin duo of Axar Patel (2/21) and Kuldeep Yadav (1/22) were at their best once again while the veteran paceman Ishant Sharma put up an impressive show for the second game running, taking 1/18 in three overs.

SRH opener Mayank Agarwal had put his team in a position of strength, hitting 49, but got out trying to lift Patel out of the park. The hosts lost significant momentum thereafter and handed their opponents an opening back into the game. The defeat also meant that SRH paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar's brilliant performance of 4-0-11-2 was of little use to his side.

"It was hard to figure out which team won and which team lost. In this game, did Hyderabad lose or did DC win? There was no logic behind the match going this long. They lost the game by seven runs and you had four wickets left. I'd rather go all out by the 18th over knowing we tried, but they couldn't even reach.

Why didn't this match end by the 18th or 19th over? It's because they don't play with pace. I don't know what's going on, but this is a different kind of chase. It seems they've forgotten how to mount a run chase," said JioCinema IPL expert Aakash Chopra. Chopra, however, praised Agarwal's batting effort for SRH. "Mayank was the only one who scored runs tonight. He batted well and was aggressive. Forty-nine in 39 balls is still not a bad return. From one side, you keep the team's innings alive and his intent was good. He was struggling against spin bowling a little and got out to a spinner for the fifth time. Nonetheless, he did a good job. But what was everyone else doing?, " the former India cricketer said. "Harry Brook was opening but was that the right move for the team is something they haven't figured out yet. Abhishek Sharma was doing well but now he bats at No. 4. If the batting order is topsy-turvy, the start itself is wrong," he added.