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Match Report:

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Stoinis powers Delhi past Warner and into IPL final

Marcus Stoinis claimed three wickets and was returned to opening the batting as he played a key role in taking the Ricky Ponting-coached Delhi past David Warner's team

Australian allrounder Marcus Stoinis took three wickets and made a fine contribution after being promoted to opener as the Delhi Capitals reached their maiden Indian Premier League final with a 17-run win over David Warner's Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Delhi will meet the defending champions Mumbai Indians in Tuesday's final (1am Wednesday AEDT) in Dubai in a contest between the two sides who finished as the top two in the league stages of this year's Twenty20 league.

Stoinis, who was last summer's leading run-scorer in the KFC BBL as an opener with the Melbourne Stars, had been used in a middle-order role throughout the IPL, as well as with Australia's T20 side on their September tour of England.

Flashback: Super Stoinis smashes highest score in BBL history

"Ricky (Ponting, the coach) had spoken to me a couple of times about the possibility of opening the batting, and it just worked out this was the game to do it," Stoinis said after the match in Abu Dhabi.

"It was nice to get an opportunity to bat at the top, I'm not sure if I will open in the final."

Chasing 190 for victory, the 2016 champions Hyderabad finished on 8-172 despite a valiant 67 off 45 balls from New Zealand captain Kane Williamson.

It was Stoinis who halted Hyderabad's charge by dismissing Williamson with his medium pace after picking up two wickets in his first over earlier in the innings.

Image Id: EA60F535A8634A64B8736E562D8766ED Image Caption: Marcus Stoinis celebrates the wicket of Kane Williamson // BCCI/IPL

South Africa pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada got the crucial wicket of opener Warner for just two and then returned to snuff out Hyderabad's chances with three wickets in his final over to finish with 4-29.

Delhi earlier decided to promote Stoinis to open the batting alongside Shikhar Dhawan, dropping Prithvi Shaw in the process, after winning the toss and opting to bat.

The move paid rich dividends for the Ponting-coached side as the duo added 86 for their opening stand, with Stoinis contributing 38 from 27 balls.

Hyderabad did not help their cause by dropping four catches including a missed opportunity against Stoinis, when Jason Holder failed to hold on to a chance with the batsman on three. 

"You can't win tournaments if you keep dropping catches and not taking the chances," Warner later said.

"The main thing for me is attitude in the field … that let us down this tournament," Warner said at the post-match presentation.

"That's probably the only thing I have to look back at and make sure that we do better next time."

Dhawan anchored the innings during his knock of 78 from 50 balls while taking the attack to the Hyderabad spinners, who struggled to control the ball with the dew on the field.

West Indies batsman Shimron Hetmyer provided the late fireworks for Delhi with an unbeaten 42 off 22 balls though left-arm seamer Thangarasu Natarajan pulled things back for Hyderabad with his accurate yorkers at the close of the innings.