Kagiso Rabada was at his lethal best against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Qualifier 2 as he scalped four wickets and guided Delhi Capitals’ to a 17-run triumph. With this, DC also qualified for their maiden IPL final and are just one step away from lifting the elusive trophy. Alongside guiding Delhi to the summit clash, Rabada’s four-wicket haul also earned him multiple milestones. He has now regained the purple cap – which is given to the highest wicket-taker of the season – from Mumbai Indians’ Jasprit Bumrah, and his tally of 29 wickets is also highest for any Delhi bowler ever in IPL history. However, many fans were left baffled by the fact that the Proteas speedster was denied a hat-trick despite scalping three wickets of three balls. Well, here’s the reason. DC vs SRH Stat Highlights IPL 2020 Qualifier 2.

What Denied Kagiso Rabada’s Hat-Trick?

According to the rule book, a bowler gets a hat-trick when he dismisses three batsmen off three consecutive deliveries. Rabada did dismiss Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan and Shreevats Goswami in the third, fourth and fifth ball of his last over respectively. However, one must not forget that he also bowled a wide between Khan and Goswami’s dismissals. Hence, he got three wickets in not three but four balls which is apparently not a hat-trick. Shikhar Dhawan Scores Half-Century! Twitterati Praise Delhi Capitals Opener.

Well, the South African star might not have got a hat-trick, but nothing can deny the fact that he spitted venom. Notably the Abu Dhabi track seemed to be a paradise for batsmen with the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Anrich Nortje getting smashed all over the park. However, the Orange Army couldn’t get under Rabada’s skin and eventually got eliminated from the competition.

The Purple cap holder will have the onus to deliver another stellar spell in the finals against Mumbai Indians to guide DC to their maiden title. However, he has a tough job in hand with the likes of Ishan Kishan, Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya being in red-hot form. Meanwhile, the IPL 2020 final encounter takes place at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on November 10 (Sunday).

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 09, 2020 09:27 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).