Cummins leads the way as SRH restrict DC to 133

Pat Cummins led the way with three new-ball wickets and a terrific running catch as Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) limited Delhi Capitals (DC) to 133 after choosing to bowl first in IPL 2025 in Hyderabad. A grass-free surface at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium proved to be a tricky one, offering enough grip for balls banged into a hard length to nip sideways as well as stop on the batter, and Cummins is a master of banging the ball into a hard length.

The SRH captain took the new ball himself with Mohammed Shami left out, and struck first ball, getting it to straighten and find Karun Nair's edge. By the time he had bowled 19 balls, Cummins had taken three wickets and Ishan Kishan - keeping for the first time this season, relieving Heinrich Klaasen of the gloves - three catches.

With Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat also getting into the wickets column, DC were gasping at 29 for 5 in the eighth over. The fullish ball Unadkat bowled to dismiss KL Rahul, from left-arm around, summed up the conditions - on nine out of ten IPL pitches, Rahul would have probably middled the drive he attempted; this was the tenth pitch, and the ball straightened to kiss his edge and make Kishan the first keeper to catch out an entire top four in an IPL innings.

Tristan Stubbs anchored DC's recovery from that point, putting on 33 with Vipraj Nigam for the sixth wicket - Nigam sacrificed his wicket when both batters ended up at the same end following a dreadful mix-up - and 66 with Ashutosh Sharma for the seventh.

As they have done in other recent games, DC named a bowler-heavy starting XI despite batting first, and brought Ashutosh off the Impact Player bench when the need arose. And Ashutosh was primarily responsible for a late flourish that brought DC 61 runs off their last six overs, hitting three sixes in a 26-ball 41. Stubbs finished unbeaten on 41 off 36 balls.

Rain began soon after DC's innings ended, leaving SRH waiting to begin their chase.