Delhi Capitals (DC) jumped into the top 2 of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 points table with a comfortable seven-wicket victory in an eventful match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Unlike their season opener against Lucknow Super Giants, which was a last-over thriller, the Axar Patel-led DC side won this Sunday afternoon contest with four overs to spare on the back of a commanding performance.

Chasing 164, each of DC's top five contributed well to the chase, with Faf du Plessis's 50(27) leading the effort. However, it was their bowling unit that made a defining impact, with Mitchell Starc's 5/35 - the first five-wicket haul of the season - and Kuldeep Yadav's 3/22 being the highlights.

A Delightful Win 🎊@DelhiCapitals continue their winning run in #TATAIPL 2025 with an all round performance against #SRH 🙌

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/L4vEDKzthJ#DCvSRH pic.twitter.com/4rpc60cT9j

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 30, 2025

The match got off to an eventful and action-packed start after SRH captain Pat Cummins won the toss and, going against the trend so far this season, elected to bat first.

Travis Head - who had been dismissed five times in seven outings by Mitchell Starc before this game - took his compatriot on with two boundaries in the first over. But a moment of confusion soon after led to Abhishek Sharma being run out for just one run.

Starc added to SRH’s agony with a triple strike in quick time. Ishan Kishan holed out, DC skipper Axar Patel then held onto a skier at mid-on as Nitish Kumar Reddy walked back, before Starc dismissed Head once again to leave SRH reeling at 37/4 in the fifth over. 

Despite a big early setback, SRH continued to play the way they know best. The experienced Heinrich Klaasen hit Starc for a six and four inside the first four deliveries he faced. Joined by talented youngster Aniket Verma, the duo led SRH’s charge, putting on 77 runs off just 40 deliveries.

 

 

 

 

 

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Klaasen’s stay (32 off 19) was cut short by a brilliant catch running backwards from Vipraj Nigam. Amidst more regular wickets at one end courtesy of Kuldeep Yadav - who finished with 3-22 - and some more great catching, Verma played a scintillating knock. He smashed a four followed by consecutive sixes off Patel’s 15th over on his way to a superb 74(41).

 

 

 

 

 

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However, Verma’s innings was a lone effort. Spearheaded by Starc, who picked up his first five-wicket haul in T20 cricket with 5-35, DC bowled out SRH for 163 in the 19th over.

Unlike SRH, DC got off to a flying start courtesy of their openers. While the often flamboyant Jake Fraser-McGurk took on the anchor role, experienced campaigner Faf du Plessis took the bowling to the cleaners. His attacking mode took off with a 15-run over off Mohammad Shami and DC raced to 52/0 at the end of the powerplay.

Debutant leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari gave SRH a breather with a double-wicket over including the wickets of Fraser-McGurk (38 off 32) and Du Plessis, but the South African gave DC the perfect platform with 50 off 27.

𝐀 𝐅𝐚𝐟-𝐮𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 💪

Faf du Plessis entertained the Vizag crowd before departing for 50 (27) 💙#DC are 96/2 after 10 overs.

Updates ▶️ https://t.co/L4vEDKzthJ#TATAIPL | #DCvSRH | @DelhiCapitals pic.twitter.com/lSJ0HxTRfd

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 30, 2025

Zeeshan Ansari capped off a dream debut with a spell of 3/42 as he uprooted KL Rahul's leg stump with a smart piece of bowling. However, a couple of quick and effective cameos from Abishek Porel (34* off 18) and Tristan Stubbs (21* off 14) ensured there were no more hiccups as DC chased down the total in emphatic fashion with 24 deliveries to spare.

Brief Scorecard: Delhi Capitals 166/3 in 16 overs (Faf du Plessis 50, Jake Fraser-McGurk 38, Zeeshan Ansari 3/42) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 163 in 18.3 overs (Aniket Verma 74, Heinrich Klaasen 32, Mitchell Starc 5/35, Kuldeep Yadav 3/22) by seven wickets.

The full scorecard and match details can be found here.