New Delhi: Skipper Kane Williamson and Shikhar Dhawan powered Sunrisers Hyderabad to an emphatic nine-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils yesterday and become the first Indian Premier League side to secure a play-off spot this season.
Williamson, who made 83, and Dhawan, 92 not out, put on an unbeaten 176-run record stand as table-toppers Sunrisers cruised past their target of 188 with seven balls to spare in the cash-rich Twenty20 tournament.
The batting duo’s effort was the highest partnership in IPL this year. Their knocks eclipsed Daredevils wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant’s unbeaten 128 off 63 balls.
The left-right batting pair of Dhawan and Williamson smashed 17 fours and 6 sixes to push Delhi, who lie bottom of the eight-team table, out the final-four race.
While it was just the second half-century of season 11 for Dhawan, New Zealand’s Williamson continued his rich vein of form with his sixth fifty.
Williamson has accumulated 493 runs in 11 innings to be key in Sunrisers’ nine wins in 11 games.
BRIEF SCORES: Sunrisers Hyderabad 191 for 1 (Dhawan 92*, Williamson 83*) beat Delhi Daredevils 187 for 5 (Pant 128*, Shakib 2 for 27) by nine wickets.
TODAY’S MATCH: Rajasthan Royals v Chennai Super Kings (Jaipur, 5.30pm)
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