Jaydev Unadkat returned to the side and made a telling impact as he picked up three wickets to help RR restrict DC to 147. The RR top-order couldn’t fire, but David Miller’s 62 and Chris Morris’ unbeaten 36 took them over the line in a final over classic.
It was expected to be a run-fest, and it was supposed to rain boundaries at the Wankhede. While there were a few struck, the match saw less than 300 runs across the two innings combined. However, there is little to complain as Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals played a thriller, and it was another game that finished in the final over.
Both sides bowled superbly at the top, and their performance with new-ball was outstanding. However, RR looked down and out during their run-chase. But the most expensive player in the history of the IPL auctions came to the party to give RR their maiden win of the season.
Sanju Samson won his second toss in a row and had no hesitation in inserting Delhi into bat first. Both teams made a couple of changes. RR brought in Jaydev Unadkat for Shreyas Gopal, and David Miller came in for the injured Ben Stokes. DC had Kagiso Rabada back as Shimron Hetmyer missed out while Lalit Yadav replaced Amit Mishra.
The pitch at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai was not a typical belter. There was a little more grass on the surface, and it was slightly tacky early on. Jaydev Unadkat made full use of those conditions and bowled a terrific opening spell. The left-arm pacer nipped out the Delhi top three in the three overs he bowled in the powerplay. Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane were all back for single-digit scores. Mustafizur Rahman dismissed Marcus Stoinis for a duck in the seventh over as the all-rounder was foxed by a slower one.
However, Rishabh Pant resurrected the innings, and he batted beautifully. He notched up his half-century, and it came off just 30 balls. However, the Delhi skipper was run out soon after getting to the milestone as he took off for a non-existent single, and Riyan Parag shot a direct hit at the bowler’s end. Delhi couldn’t get any impetus from there on, and they huffed and puffed their way to 147 as the likes of Lalit Yadav, Tom Curran, and Chris Woakes found a few boundaries.
Delhi’s innings was the first-ever at the Wankhede without a single six in the history of the IPL. 147 seemed well below par. However, the Delhi opening bowlers troubled the RR batters and had them in trouble early.
Chris Woakes got the ball to nip around a touch and took two wickets in his second over. He had Manan Vohra caught at mid-on before his countryman Jos Buttler inside-edged one to Pant, who took a superb catch behind the stumps. Rabada had his first wicket of the season in his first over as Samson nicked one to slip. Shivam Dube and Riyan Parag didn’t last long either as Avesh Khan scalped both of those batters.
RR were reeling at 42/5 in the 10th over. David Miller tried getting the chase back on track. He was finding the fence regularly, and he shared a 48-run stand with Rahul Tewatia. Rabada bounced out the latter, and RR were reduced to 90/6. With 57 needed off the last five overs, Chris Morris joined Miller in the middle.
However, RR lost Miller in the 16th over after the South African left-hander struck Avesh Khan a couple of sixes. At 104/7, the game looked dead and buried. Woakes and Curran conceded nine and seven runs in the 17th and 18th over, respectively. 27 were required off the last two overs, and Morris was not even striking them cleanly.
But he soon found the middle of his bat and struck a couple of lusty blows off Rabada in the penultimate over to leave 12 runs for the final over. Morris started the final over with a brace before smoking one slower one Curran into the stands. He wrapped up the game with another six on the fourth ball and took RR home with a fantastic 36 not out.
Brief Scores
Delhi Capitals 147/8 (Pant 51, Curran 21, Unadkat 3/15, Mustafizur 2/29) lost to Rajasthan Royals 150/7 (Miller 62, Morris 36, Avesh 3/32, Woakes 2/22, Rabada 2/30) by three wickets
