Malinga, Madushanka rip through DC as SRH surge to third after Abhishek blitz

Apr.22 (Mirror Sports) - Sunrisers Hyderabad rode a fiery spell from their Sri Lankan quicks to seal a commanding 47-run win over Delhi Capitals, climbing to third on the IPL 2026 points table after a headline-grabbing century from Abhishek Sharma.

Abhishek smashed an unbeaten 135 off 68 balls, launching 10 sixes to power SRH to a daunting 242, with Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen providing strong support. But the real damage came with the ball.

Dilshan Madushanka set the tone early on his IPL debut, swinging the new ball up front and striking inside the powerplay to dent Delhi’s chase. His control across phases, including probing wobble-seam deliveries, kept the pressure firmly on.

Then came Eshan Malinga’s decisive burst. The young seamer tore through the middle order, picking up four wickets and briefly threatening a hat-trick to break the chase wide open. Mixing reverse swing with clever variations, Malinga left Delhi with no route back.

Despite resistance from Nitish Rana (57) and Sameer Rizvi (41), Delhi never recovered from the early blows. Harsh Dubey added late strikes to wrap up the innings, sealing a comprehensive win for Hyderabad.

While Abhishek’s brilliance lit up the night, it was the clinical impact of SRH’s Sri Lankan pace duo that ultimately crushed Delhi and powered Hyderabad up the table.