Sanju Samson attempted his best to continue battling it out but received no support, following a fine performance by the Delhi Capitals bowlers.
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Delhi Capitals recorded a comfortable victory over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in an encounter of the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Saturday. The match was played at Abu Dhabi, a pitch on which runs have been hard to come by. The Capitals were put in to bat and they managed to score 154 runs for the loss of six wickets after their 20 overs. In the past, the pitch has proven to be advantageous for the chasing team. However, the difference today was that the match was played in the afternoon. The dew factor was definitely substantially low, enabling DC to play to the pitch’s strengths and win the match. The Royals only managed to score 121-6 at the end of their 20 overs. It would be a pretty significant hit to their net run rate.
Royals skipper Sanju Samson was the only one who managed to make any substantial contribution. Samson scored 70 runs off 53 deliveries and was unbeaten. It was indeed a skipper’s knock but there was no one there to support him for the long haul. Mahipal Lomror was the only other batter who got to double figures but at an incredibly slow rate. He scored 19 runs off 24 deliveries. The Royals missed West Indian batter, Evin Lewis, at the top of the order. The opener was in fantastic form, fresh after being the second-highest run-scorer in the recently concluded edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). The men in blue were also without all-rounder Chris Morris.
The DC bowling was economical and effective, to say the least. Every single bowler deployed by skipper Rishabh Pant picked at least one wicket and was not expensive. South African pacer Anrich Nortje was the pick of the bowlers as he bagged a couple of wickets and conceded only 18 runs in his four overs. Avesh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Axar Patel picked one wicket each.
Shreyas Iyer was the Capitals’ leading run-scorer, with 43 runs off 32 balls. Iyer’s knock included a boundary and two sixes. West Indian batter Shimron Hetmyer provided some late-innings momentum down the order, smashing 28 runs in 16 balls and hitting five fours.
Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman had a wonderful game for the Royals. It is possibly one of the few silver linings in what has been an utterly disappointing afternoon for Samson’s men. Rahman was responsible for the key dismissals of Rishabh Pant and Shimron Hetmyer while conceding only 22 runs to help DC reach 154 for the loss of six wickets. Chetan Sakariya, who also contributed two dismissals while allowing 33 runs, was a valuable supporter for the pacer. Karthik Tyagi and Rahul Tewatia each took a wicket.
The win takes DC to the top of the IPL table as they have amassed 16 points from the season so far. They can breathe easy knowing that their place in the play-offs is not under threat, and take the next few games to experiment with the team.
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