Interventions by Kuldeep, Axar

Abhishek also hit the first non-powerplay ball of the innings for six, stepping out to Kuldeep and going through his shot despite not reaching the pitch of the ball. This also happened in the fifth over, off the same bowler, and it seemed to remind the Capitals bowlers that they were hiding nothing.

But sometimes a wicket can come out of nowhere, especially when the batsmen are going for everything, and that was the case with the next ball when a diving Axar took a flicked drive at cover.

Aiden Markram came in at No. 3 ahead of Heinrich Klaasen, who is better known as a spin-hitter and fell in the same over, hitting a not particularly good delivery from Kuldeep - short and wide - straight to cover. But sometimes even an ordinary ball from a wrist-spinner can behave oddly, staying a little longer on the pitch or bouncing a little more than expected.

Kuldeep's value came to the fore again in his next over - after Klaasen had hit him for two sixes - when Head couldn't get hold of a ball that wasn't quite short enough to pull. He had easily cleared that length in the powerplay, but now there was a man back at long-on and he was out for 89 off 32.

Klaasen is a master of pulling not-quite-pullable lengths against the spinners, but on this day he was done in by an Axar skidder that hit his inside edge and bowled him. Sunrisers were a surreal 154 for 4 in 9.1 overs.