Top Performers: Abhishek, Klaasen star for SRH, Marsh for Delhi

With the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League heading towards its business end, the games are rolling in thick and fast. While the top of table is cluttered this season, Delhi and Sunrisers continue to remain in the bottom half.

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Following Saturday’s contest at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Sunrisers Hyderabad climbed to the seventh spot on the table. On the other hand, with just two wins from eight games, Delhi occupies the last rung on the table.

Though Delhi ended up on the losing side, if we rewind and take a look at the top performers of the game, it's DC’s Mitchell Marsh who tops the charts. Sunrisers had their share of match-winners, but Player-of-the-Match Marsh dazzled with both bat and ball but in a losing cause.

Meanwhile, for visitors Sunrisers, there were some outstanding performances as well, with young Abhishek Sharma playing a key role for the former champions.

Here are the top performers of the Delhi Capitals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad match at the Arjun Jaitley Stadium.

Abhishek Sharma

After the Sunrisers opted to bat first, the young Abhishek Sharma lit up the Delhi skyline with a scintillating knock. On a day when Sunrisers struggled to build partnerships, the young opener struck the ball like he was batting on a completely different pitch.

Sharma hammered his first 50 of the season to guide SRH to a strong powerplay score. The 22-year-old’s 36-ball 67 was laced with 12 boundaries and a six. At the innings break, the youngster had expressed his desire to bowl. And his wish was granted with skipper Markram handing Sharma the ball for the first time this season.

The youngster didn’t disappoint as he picked up a crucial wicket to keep the Capitals in check and helped the Sunrisers bowling line-up snatch a narrow win from the hosts.

Heinrich Klaasen

While the young Sharma laid the foundation of SRH’s innings, Heinrich Klaasen’s unbeaten knock took SRH to 197/6. This was the season’s highest total by any team at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

As Marsh’s spell rocked the SRH batting order, Klaasen came to the team’s rescue with an unbeaten 53 off 27. Striking at a rate of nearly 200, the South African wicketkeeper-batter notched his first half-century in the league. Bringing up his 50 off 25-deliveries, Klaasen took SRH to a match-winning total.

Mitchell Marsh

Though in a losing cause, Marsh was by far the best performer in match no. 40 of the ongoing IPL season. With Sunrisers electing to bat first, opener Abhishek Sharma set the visitors up for a big total.

Despite Bhuvneshwar Kumar striking in the opening over for the 24th time in the IPL, to remove Warner, the Sunrisers were on course for a big total.

The visitors would have effortlessly crossed the 200+ mark had it not been for Marsh’s scintillating spell of 4/27. Marsh’s haul included big-hitters Rahul Tripathi (10), Aiden Markram (8), Harry Brook (0) and Abdul Samad (28).

After delivering with the ball, the Australian all-rounder top-scored for the hosts. Marsh stitched together a century stand with opener Phil Salt. But his 39-ball 63 went in vain as DC fell to their sixth loss. Marsh’s innings was laced with one boundary and six maximums.

Though DC found themselves on the losing side once again, Marsh’s spell with the ball and his third half-century in the IPL gave the home fans something to cheer about.

• IPL 2023