West Indies batsman Shimron Hetmyer on Monday produced a match-winning cameo as the Delhi Capitals edged out the Chennai Super Kings by three wickets to take the lead on the IPL table.
Chasing 137 for victory, Delhi depended on a brisk 39 by Shikhar Dhawan and Hetmyer’s 18-ball 28 to achieve their target with two balls to spare in Dubai.
“Very important for me to finish games,” the left-handed Hetmyer said. “I tell the guys that is what I am paid for, and I try to finish as many games as possible.”
Spinner Axar Patel set up the win with impressive figures of 2-18 as Delhi kept Chennai down to 136-5 despite an unbeaten 55 by Ambati Rayudu.
Delhi, who inched closer to a top-two finish in the league stage, made Chennai slip to second, while Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore remain third. All three teams have made the playoffs.
Finishing in the top two gives the teams a second chance among the four teams to make the finals on Oct. 15.
“Not a bad birthday present, but in the end we made it tough for us,” said Delhi captain Rishabh Pant, who turned 24 on Monday. “Absolutely big win, and want to be absolutely sure we finish in the top two.”
Delhi were in trouble at 99-6 after pace bowler Shardul Thakur struck twice in an over to send back Ravichandran Ashwin and Dhawan back to the dugout.
No. 7 Hetmyer then stood firm and smashed Dwayne Bravo for two boundaries in one over and hit a six off Josh Hazlewood in the next to ease the pressure.
Bravo got Patel out in the final over, but new man Kagiso Rabada hit the winning runs to take Delhi to 20 points in 13 matches.
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