IPL 2021: Dominant Delhi Capitals demolish Hyderabad by 8 wickets

Delhi Capitals registered a thumping eight-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Wednesday. Hyderabad was not at its full strength as two of its players werre out of action due to Covid-19.

While fast bowler Thangarasu Natarajan tested positive for the infection and was put in isolation hours before the game, all-rounder Vijay Shankar also went into isolation after being identified as a close contact of Natarajan.

A release from the IPL later said that Natarajan is "currently asymptomatic" while the contacts and other Hyderabad players all returned negative tests.

Without two key players, Hyderabad was limited to 134-9 by Delhi's seamers and spinners.

Shikhar Dhawan lay the foundations for Delhi's chase with his brisk 42. Dhawan's runs came off 37 balls and was laced with six boundaries and one hit over the fence.

Shreyas Iyer (47 not out) and captain Rishabh Pant (35 not out) took the run-chase further with an unbroken 67-run stand. The team reached 139-2 in 17.5 overs.

While Khaleel Ahmed extracted some pace and bounce from the track, none other Hyderabad bowlers managed to trouble Delhi batsmen as Iyer and Pant batted with consummate ease.

After Wednesday's win, Delhi is at the top of the leaderboard with 14 points.