Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) pacer Eshan Malinga turned the IPL 2026 clash against Delhi Capitals (DC) on its head with a dramatic double-wicket over DC’s left-arm reel to 109/4. The young Sri Lankan quick dismissed dangerous batsman Nitish Rana and then cleaned up David Miller with a golden duck, sparking wild celebrations in the orange army stands at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. His double strike, along with two more wickets later in the game, helped restrict DC to 195/5 after 20 overs, leading to a 47-run win for SRH.
Eshan Malinga’s deadly spell changes the momentum
Nitish Rana, who was aggressive and looked set on 57 off 30 balls, fell first. Malinga cleverly played a slower length delivery which forced Rana to mistime his front foot lift. The ball went high to long-on where Abhishek Sharma completed a well-judged slip catch. It was a major breakthrough as Rana anchored DC’s middle order.
Just one ball later, South African finisher David Miller stepped in, but only lasted one delivery. Malinga bowled a length ball which held the line beautifully. Rooted in the crease, Miller tried to defend but managed only an inside edge that deflected off the back thigh onto the stumps. Miller departed for a golden duck to leave DC at 109/4 with Tristan Stubbs and Sameer Rizvi at the crease.
Eshan Malinga’s game-changing magic breaks DC’s spine
Eshan Malinga produced a decisive and clinical spell, finishing with excellent figures of 4-0-32-4 and turning the match firmly in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s favour. After taking two crucial scalps, he removed Nitish Rana and David Miller from successive deliveries to trigger the collapse. Malinga wasn’t done yet, returning later to dismiss Tristan Stubbs for 27 (16) with a clever slower ball before dismissing Ashutosh Sharma for 14 (10) to complete the four-wicket haul. His variations, especially his change of pace and ability to hit awkward lengths, made scoring difficult and never allowed Delhi Capitals to reassert themselves. It was a spell that not only brought the wickets but completely dismantled the chase.
Eshan Malinga in the Purple Cap race
Eshan Malinga climbed to the second spot in the Purple Cap with four wickets in the SRH vs DC clash. He has taken 12 wickets in 7 innings and has a BBI of 32/4. He played for an economic rate of 9.43. The SRH star player is just behind Chennai Super Kings’ Anshul Kamboj who has 13 scalps from 6 innings.
