Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis took three wickets and also made a solid contribution with the bat to help Delhi Capitals reach their maiden Indian Premier League final on Sunday with a 17-run win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Delhi will meet defending champions Mumbai Indians in Tuesday’s final in Dubai in a contest between two sides who finished in the top two in the league stages of this year’s popular Twenty20 league.
Chasing 190 for victory, the 2016 champions Hyderabad finished on 172 for eight despite a valiant 67 off 45 balls from New Zealand captain Kane Williamson. It was Stoinis who halted Hyderabad’s charge by dismissing Williamson with his medium-pace bowling after picking up two wickets in his first over earlier in the innings.
South Africa pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada dismissed Hyderabad captain David Warner for two early and then returned to snuff out Hyderabad’s chances with three wickets in his final over to finish with 4-29.
Delhi earlier decided to promote Australian Stoinis to open the batting alongside Shikhar Dhawan, dropping Prithvi Shaw in the process, after winning the toss and opting to bat.
The move paid rich dividends for the Ricky Ponting-coached side as the duo added 86 for their opening stand, with Stoinis contributing 38 from 27 balls.
Dhawan anchored the innings during his knock of 78 from 50 balls while taking the attack to the Hyderabad spinners, who struggled to control the ball with the dew on the field.
West Indies batsman Shimron Hetmyer provided the late fireworks for Delhi with an unbeaten 42 off 22 balls though left-arm seamer Thangarasu Natarajan pulled things back for Hyderabad with his accurate yorkers at the close of the innings.
Hyderabad did not help their cause by dropping four catches including a missed opportunity against Stoinis, when Jason Holder failed to hold on to a chance with the batsman on three.
