Dominant Delhi thrash RR, go atop points table
Sharjah: Delhi Capitals (DC), playing like a well-oiled machine, once again reclaimed the top spot in the Indian Premier League (IPL) points table with a thumping 46-run win over Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the historical Sharjah Cricket stadium here on Friday night.
Despite putting up a moderate total of 184/8 wickets in 20 overs on a batting friendly track, the DC bowlers came all gun blazing as their collective effort was enough to defend the total and set up a comfortable win for the Shreyas Iyer-led side. RR were all out for 138 in 19.4 overs.
DC now have 10 points in their kitty while RR sit at the seventh place in the eight team standings with just four points.
Kagiso Rabada (3/35) was once again the wrecker-in-chief with match-winning figures while Marcus Stoinis and Ravichandran Ashwin pick two wickets each. Axar Patel, Harshal Patel and Anrich Nortje, too, stepped up and settled with one wicket each.
Chasing a 185-run target, RR lost opener Jos Buttler (13) cheaply off an Ashwin delivery, with just 15 runs on the board.
Skipper Steve Smith (24) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (34) tried their best to rescue RR from the early damage with a brief 41-run stand. However, Nortje didn’t let the duo convert it into something big as he packed back the RR skipper in the ninth over.
Sanju Samson (5) and Jaiswal kept the fight on but tasted little success as Stoinis got rid-off the latter in the 11th over with RR’s scorecard reading 72/3.
The RR’s middle-order once again succumbed under pressure and lost seven wickets for just 100 runs.
With his 29-ball 38, Rahul Tewatia delivered his best to avoid a thrashing. However, lack of support from others cost RR the match as they were bundled out for a paltry 138 runs in 19.4 overs.
Earlier, Jofra Archer’s (3/24) brilliant show with the leather saw DC being restricted at 184/8 in the allotted 20 overs.
Despite the track being favorable for batsmen, DC batter’s failed to utilise the conditions as it was for the first time in the ongoing season that a team batting first here couldn’t score more than 200 runs.
Put into bat, DC received jolts at regular intervals, thanks to RR bowlers who didn’t let a partnership develop and which ultimately hurt the Shreyas Iyer-led side’s chances of posting a big total.
It was Shimron Hetmyer, who was the top-score for DC with his 24-ball 45, and Marcus Stoinis, who chipped in with a 30-ball 39 run, helping their side reach a respectable total.
Apart from Archer, Kartik Tyagi, debutant Andrew Tye and Rahul Tewatia picked a wicket apiece.
Brief scores:
DC: 184/8 wkts in 20 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 45, Marcus Stoinis 39; Jofra Archer 3/24) beat RR: 138 all out in 19.4 overs (Rahul Tewatia 38, YashasviJaiswal 34; Kagiso Rabada 3/35) by 46 runs