IPL 2025: Rain breaks SRH hearts, hands Delhi Capitals a lifeline

As kids, we grew up learning a nursery rhyme: Rain rain go away. On Monday night, at a cricket venue on the outskirts of Hyderabad, Sunrisers Hyderabad fans and the team members must have been reciting this rhyme as well.

After SRH skipper Pat Cummins single-handedly came out firing on all cylinder to wreck Delhi Capitals, rain came in a torrent to hand Axar Patel's boys a lifeline in the IPL 2025.

For all those who have been watching the latest edition of the Indian Premier League closely, it was well known, teams not having peaked had the juices to rebound.

That is what SRH did, with Cummins menacing and in a destructive mode. He bowled with the new ball, which was important. There have been instances when he came first change in this IPL.

No, not on Monday night. There was energy in him and anger as well, as carping critics had pilloried Cummins for non-performance. As commander on the flight deck, Cummins does take responsibility.

There was turbulence for the team all along this summer, as SRH have been unable to crank up performances with consistency as openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma have not been able to fire as well as they can.

Well, on Monday night, there was every reason to believe SRH were fighting for pride. Hammering the hell out of the Delhi Capitals batters. The way the top three perished - Karu Nair, Faf du Plessis and Abhishek Porel for 0, 3 and 8 runs respectively, with Pat Cummins leaving Delhi Capitals bleeding, it was a scary sight.

There was some resistance from Ashutosh Singh as he scored 41. But then, Cummins was supported effectively by pace and swing where Jaydev Unadkat bowled with experience for an analysis of 4-0-13-1. This was refreshing to watch, as Unadkat had been described as past prime.

A total of 133/7 for Delhi Capitals on a dicey pitch would not have sufficed at all. For those who follow the weather map and rain pattern, this is not even early pre-monsoon showers. It rained hard to ruin SRH, as they now finish at the bottom three. No chance of Playoffs, though for sheer performance in the Monday battle, SRH won hearts.

Frankly speaking, there is nothing like a consolation win in sports. That's bilge. Here, SRH played well and had a chance to come back into the IPL 2025. Sadly, when you are battling elements, literally, rain washed away SRH. Post mortems and reviews will take place.

That's how hard the IPL exams are when board rooms dissect performance and hand out appraisal results.

To be sure, the way Delhi Capitals have played this year has been patchy. It is no cliché to say, they peaked too early in the IPL 2025, and were on top of the charts for the first few weeks.

The real test in this long tournament was to peak, then hit trough and again peak. Axar Patel got rave reviews, KL Rahul became so hyped, he had started planting his bat on the Bengaluru turf in cinematic fashion after one win. It was as if he had proclaimed he is a monster who would devour all. No way, Rahul has been pedestrian after that one knock.

As for grand old man Karun Nair, he is not going to win you matches daily. The problems for DC may have receded as they have got a point which they did not deserve to be at 13 points from 11 matches. The battle for Top 4 from five teams is on. If DC fail to make the cut, which will become clear soon, none will shed a tear.

Axar Patel, who has spent a lot of time with the Delhi team and then got elevated as captain, has not done a great job. His stock has fallen, and also that of the marquee batters and the bowling unit as well.

Fans were hoping they would get to see Nattu (T.Natarajan) finally play for DC. Rains spoilt plans. How the sequence of results emerge in the coming days will be interesting. DC are not in the morgue but certainly battling in critical care in their IPL campaign in 2025. Mind you, the team control has changed from JSW to GMR, and to go out early will be viewed strictly.

This is a truth Axar Patel and the new coaching gang knows well. Yes, the IPL is a long-drawn format and one cannot get swayed by good results early on, that, too, in away matches. At home, DC were below par. Redemption possible? Why not, this is sports after all.