Delhi Capitals pacer Anrich Nortje bowls against the Rajasthan Royals in Dubai on Wednesday night. - BCCI/IPL
Dubai - Anrich Nortje bowls fastest delivery in IPL history, clocked at 156.22kmph
Published: Wed 14 Oct 2020, 10:46 PM
Last updated: Fri 16 Oct 2020, 2:16 AM
It is by no means easy when you lose two of your main bowlers to injuries but the Delhi Capitals continue to chug along nicely like a locomotive. And on Wednesday night, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, they defended a modest total against the Rajasthan Royals to go top of the IPL table.
Anrich Nortje, a replacement for England all-rounder Chris Woakes, is proving to be a master stroke by the Capitals. The South African not just bowled the fastest delivery in the history of the competition, but his two wickets along with debutant Tushar Deshpande's two saw them nick a 13-run victory.
Their sixth victory took the Delhi Capitals to the top of the perch with 12 points, ahead of defending champions Mumbai Indians, who have played a game less.
The Delhi Capitals were without stalwarts Amit Mishra and Ishant Sharma but their bowling attack has stood up admirably well. Nortje also bowled the quickest ball to Jos Buttler, which was clocked at 156.22kmph. Kagiso Rabada took one wicket with the Purple Cap holder increasing his tally to 18 scalps, while spinners R Ashwin and Axar Patel too had a wicket each.
The Capitals were also helped by some mindless batting by the Royals. This was a target within their grasp with the batting might that they boasted of but Rajasthan self-destructed.
"No idea I bowled at 156ks tonight but good to hear it," a surprised Nortje, who was named Man of the Match, said at the post-match presentation.
"I've been feeling really good so it is nice to see some results. I thought it was best to stick to my strength and I was trying to hit the stumps and bowl fast," he added.
Rajasthan's start had almost mirrored that of the Delhi Capitals with them losing two wickets inside the powerplay, during the chase of 162.
Though Jos Buttler threw caution to the wind by smoking a nine-ball 22 that contained three boundaries and a six, Anrich Nortje had him castled.
Skipper Steve Smith was playing his 200th T20 fixture but his wretched form continued with the Australian edging a return catch to R Ashwin.
Opener Ben Stokes and Sanju Samson put on 46 runs for the third wicket before the Englishman became Deshpande's maiden wicket. Stokes made 41 from 35 balls which had six boundaries.
Sanju Samson was looking good with a cleanly struck six off Patel, the first the left-arm spinner had conceded this season. But he was cleaned up by Patel after making an 18-ball 25 that had two sixes.
Riyan Parag was run out following a mix-up with Robin Uthappa after which the Delhi Capitals tightened the noose. And it was too much of an ask for Rahul Tewatia.
Earlier, opener Shikhar Dhawan and captain Shreyas Iyer came up with half-centuries as the Delhi Capitals put up a modest score.
Southpaw Dhawan scored his second successive fifty and second of the edition, while Iyer too came up with his second of the season as the Delhi Capitals posted 161-7.
Dhawan made a 33-ball 57 with six boundaries and two sixes, the 39th of his IPL career. The Delhiite also went past 7500 runs in T20 cricket, in the process.
Iyer, meanwhile, stroked 53 from 43 deliveries with three fours and two sixes, with the knock being his 15th IPL fifty. The 25-year-old also completed 1000 IPL runs as captain.
Fast bowler Jofra Archer was the pick of the bowlers for the Rajasthan Royals with three for 19 from his four overs.
And Rajasthan had an unbelievable start with Jofra Archer cleaning up opener Prithvi Shaw with a beauty of a delivery. The Englishman hurled it just short of a length and outside off-stump and got some movement and Shaw played outside the line and it took the inside edge and knocked his timber.
Archer then embarked on the Assamese folk Bihu dance made famous by his teammate Parag, who hails from the Northeast of India.
Archer and the Royals had a reason to dance some more after Ajinkya Rahane, unable to fire against his former employers, became his second victim.
Archer had two for five as the Delhi Capitals got 47 in the powerplay with left-hander Dhawan counter-attacking by striking four boundaries and a six in his 15-ball 30. Iyer was on 10 from 12 with a lone boundary.
Dhawan reached his fifty from 30 deliveries with the help of six boundaries and a six and smacked another one over the ropes off Gopal. But the leg spinner got his revenge immediately as Dhawan top edged his reverse sweep into the hands of Kartik Tyagi at short third man.
Dhawan and Iyer's partnership for the third wicket was worth 85 runs.
Iyer and Marcus Stoinis then came up with a 37-run stand for the fourth wicket with the skipper reaching his milestone with a six off Unadkat.
Ben Stokes had seemed to have pulled off one of those brilliant catches at the boundary line but his foot was grounded when he released the ball and took it on the second attempt.
The Delhi Capitals, who were 129-3 in 15 overs, got 32 runs in the last five overs.
Brief scores:
Delhi Capitals: 161-7 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 57, Shreyas Iyer 53, Jofra Archer 3-19, Jaydev Unadkat 2-32) beat Rajasthan Royals: 148-8 in 20 overs (Ben Stokes 41, Robin Uthappa 32, Sanju Samson 25, Jos Buttler 22, Rahul Tewatia 14 not out, Anrich Nortje 2-33, Tushar Deshpande 2-37) by 13 runs.
Teams:
Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer (C), Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey(w), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Tushar Deshpande, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje.
Rajasthan Royals: Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Steven Smith (C), Sanju Samson, Robin Uthappa, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi.
james@khaleejtimes.com
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