The new recruit took three wickets against Delhi Capitals
Though Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) ended on a losing note against Delhi Capitals (DC) during Match No.10 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, a leg-spinner from Lucknow has received praises. Before we get to the heroics by Zeeshan Ansari and what the head coach Daniel Vettori had to say about the youngster, let’s unravel what went down in the game.
At a home away from home in Visakhapatnam, DC was asked to take on the field. Over the last few days, SRH fans have been demanding a 300+ score this season from the heavy top-order team. But DC skipper Axar Patel was ready for the challenge. He introduced three overs of Mitchell Starc within the powerplay to take down the likes of Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Travis Head. DC got lucky with a run out of Abhishek Sharma. Starc went on to complete a fifer. Overall, the impact of DC bowlers was such that the team with the most destructive batting line-up was reduced to 163 before the end of 20 overs.
With a sub-par total to chase, Jake Fraser-McGurk (38), Faf du Plessis (50), and KL Rahul (15) played fearless cricket. Abishek Porel (34*) and Tristan Stubbs (21*) also added to the leaderboard. Surprisingly, the lucrative bowling side consisting of Mohammed Shami, skipper Pat Cummins, and Harshal Patel returned wicketless. Zeeshan picked up all three wickets in the second innings, however, DC finished the match in 16 overs.
Though Zeeshan leaked 42 overs in his four-over spell, his applaud-worthy performance was best summarised by the head coach.
“He was fantastic. I think from the first day that he came in, we knew that he was a talent and trying to fit him into the team was one of the conversations early on. And so for him to give us that domestic leg spinning option, to take three big wickets tonight and continually challenge the batsman is something really promising for us going forward.”
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For SRH’s fixture against DC, the team included Zeeshan instead of Adam Zampa, who previously played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
Zampa featured in SRH’s first IPL 2025 fixture against Lucknow Super Giants. He scalped Ayush Badoni’s wicket while giving away 46 runs. Compared to the economy rate, both bowlers – Zampa and Zeeshan were disappointing. But Zeeshan created a more vital impact than the overseas player. The Aussie bowler has years of international experience on his back. However, his efficacious was not the best.
SRH will take the flight to face the Kolkata Knight Riders on April 3 before returning to Hyderabad for two home games. Pat Cummins may prefer Zeeshan while leaving the fourth overseas spot open for a probable Impact Player choice.
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