Delhi Capitals defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven runs

Delhi Capitals bowlers held nerves under pressure to thwart a late challenge from Sunrisers Hyderabad and secure a thrilling seven-run win in the IPL, here on Monday.

Heinrich Klaasen (31 from 19 balls) and Washington Sundar (24 not out; 15b) led their revival from 85/5 but the South African was dismissed by Anrich Nortje (2/33) in the penultimate over.

Mukesh Kumar (3-0-27-0) then defended 13 runs from the last over. Axar Patel returned with 2/21 from his four overs.

Opening the batting, Mayank Agarwal led the SRH batting charge atop the order but only to get out one run shy of his halfcentury.

SRH lost half of their side for 85 in 14.1 overs when Klaasen and Sundar revived their chase.

Veteran seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and spinner Washington Sundar led Sunrisers Hyderabad's tight bowling show to restrict Delhi Capitals to 144/9.

Having returned wicketless from six matches this season, Washington Sundar (3/28) grabbed three wickets in five balls to leave DC reeling at 62/5 inside eight overs after skipper David Warner opted to bat.

Bhuvneshwar (2/11) then came up with a tidy spell as Delhi struggled to get going.

After the top-order's failure, the duo of Manish Pandey (34) and Axar Patel (34) put on 69 from 59 balls.

But SRH's tight bowling and fielding stymied the proceedings at the back-end as DC lost five wickets and managed just 16 runs in the last three overs.

Brief Scores:

Delhi Capitals 144/9; 20 overs (Manish Pandey 34, Axar Patel 34; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/11, Washington Sundar 3/28) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 137/6; 20 overs (Axar Patel 2/21) by seven runs.