To maintain their hopes of making the IPL playoffs, Delhi Capitals defeated Rajasthan Royals by a vital 20 runs on Tuesday in a game they had to win at home.
The Royals were unable to complete a challenging 222-run chase, but the Capitals prevailed thanks to an all-around performance with the bat and ball. After the batsmen struck in synchrony, DC spinners Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav delivered outstanding efforts.
The Royals got out to a fast start in their hunt, knowing that a victory would secure their postseason berth. But the 16th over’s removal of captain Sanju Samson, who had amassed a scorching 86 from 46 deliveries, turned out to be a turning moment. After Samson left, the Royals’ innings lost steam and they eventually failed, finishing at 201 for 8.
The Royals’ middle-overs scoring pace was slowed down by the outstanding control over line and length shown by wrist spinner Kuldeep (2/25 in 4 overs) and left-arm spinner Axar (1/25 in 3 overs).
Within their combined seven overs, the two bowlers conceded just fifty runs. Delhi Capitals’ victory on Tuesday pushed them up to fifth position with 12 points, which is the same as three other teams. However, even if they win their next two games, it will be tough for them to advance to the next round since the teams in front of them have a greater chance of earning 18 points. DC is allowed a maximum of sixteen points.
Although pacer Avesh Khan leaked runs, veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin shocked the Capitals with two wickets in his next over.
Samson’s skillful hitting was impressive to witness, despite Jos Buttler’s inability to capitalize on a missed opportunity. Ishant Sharma, an experienced bowler, was treated with complete contempt by Samson, who easily scored boundaries off him. Buttler was slow to get going but was given an opportunity when Jake Fraser-McGurk missed a high catch off Mukesh Kumar when he was on eight.
The England batsman pulled one off left-arm spinner Axar, who demonstrated his skill at keeping the hitters contained on a tiny field similar to Kotla. As the asking rate increased, Kuldeep also kept the batters under strict control. After striking it out of the park, Rasikh Dar cleaned up Riyan Parag.
After hitting a six off Kuldeep to reach fifty runs, Samson went on the offensive against Dar, who gave up eighteen runs in the thirteenth over of the innings.
Royals required 42 balls to score 91 runs. Shubham Dube, making his debut, provided excellent assistance for his captain as he struck a massive six off Ishant after a four. After bowling four consecutive wides, Khaleel Ahmed, a left-arm bowler, created an opportunity to dismiss Samson, but his lofted shot missed the long-off fielder. But Samson’s exit caused the Royals’ innings to collapse.
Earlier, DC would have scored more runs if Ashwin and fellow off-spinner Riyan Parag hadn’t bowled well in the middle overs.
The young Australian batsman Fraser-McGurk continued his amazing form with 50 off 20 balls, while Abhishek Porel chipped in with 65 off 36 balls. A nice twenty-ball forty-one from Tristan Stubbs was his contribution, although captain Rishabh Pant’s (15) bat did not say much.
Trent Boult and Sandeep Singh, two Royals pacers, entered the game with a hit-the-deck strategy and were mainly successful in preventing home openers from scoring easily. Most of the early boundaries were lofted strokes and drives in the ‘V’ region that were executed well.
Fraser-McGurk became agitated and started slinging his bat around. After settling into a rhythm, the Australian was merciless to Avesh, hitting him for 28 runs in the fourth over of the innings, including two sixes and four fours, to reach his half-century in only 19 balls.
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As luck would have it, Fraser-McGurk was dismissed softly when he hit Ashwin’s full-toss straight to fielder Donovon Ferreira. Shai Hope also passed away quickly and regretfully. The ball brushed the bowler’s hand before smashing into the stumps, and Porel smacked Sandeep straight, catching the West Indian outside the wicket.
After starting with a little full length, Yuzvendra Chahal (1/48 in 4 overs) was blasted for six by Porel. However, Parag did a fantastic job of keeping the hitters quiet with his off-spin. After Ashwin came back, Axar Patel—who had just smacked Parag for a maximum—was eliminated. However, Porel persisted and reached his fifty, while Avesh kept losing runs.
Sanju Samson, the captain of RR, sent the ball to Ashwin, who once again produced, sending Porel back with a delivery that was too long for the southpaw to connect with. With a sweep shot from Chahal, the home captain wasted his wicket without contributing anything. Throughout the final five overs, DC scored 65 runs.
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