IPL 2021, DC vs RR Highlights: Delhi Capitals (DC) consolidated their position at the top of the IPL 2021 points table after beating Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 33 runs at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Batting first, DC faltered early on, losing both of their openers inside five overs. Rishabh Pant (24) and Shreyas Iyer (43) steadied the ship in the middle overs with ultimately the team finishing on 154/6 after 20 overs. Chasing, RR looked uncomfortable right from the start. The Royals lost three wickets inside five overs and despite an unbeaten 70-run knock by skipper Sanju Samson, they failed to chase the target in the end.
Delhi Capitals
154/6 (20.0)Rajasthan Royals
121/6 (20.0)Delhi Capitals beat Rajasthan Royals by 33 runs
It was an inevitability after their top order collapse and lack of support from anybody in the middle or lower order for Samson. Delhi Capitals win the match, take the 2 points to take back the top spot on the points table.
RR end on 121/6, Samson, who hit what was probably the best shot of the match off the penultimate ball of the fruitless chase, ends on 70*.
Nortje finishes with 2/18, one of DC's multiple standout bowlers today. Rabada now bowls the 19th over. Samson scoops him behind the keeper for 4 - keeping the show going even as his team is losing sight of the target.
RR 110/6 after 19, 45 runs away from the target with 1 over left.
Today's second match is minutes away meanwhile:
Another batsman falls for RR. Tewatia goes for 9 off 15 balls. Not the miracle innings his team needed. Shamsi is Samson's new partner.
RR 99/6 after 17.2, need 56 runs in 16 balls
It's reverse sweep time! First Tewatia hits one with a flourish, for a single. Samson goes for it next ball. Misses. Not to be discouraged, goes for it again as Axar becomes bemused at this reverse sweep onslaught. This time it's Samson 1-0 Axar, he gets it over the inner field for four to third man.
50 for Samson, his lone hand lifting RR's hopes.
RR 96/5 after 16.3
Samson nudges a short ball from Nortje for four down to third man. Rabada also at the end of a few attacking shots from Samson, who picks up 3 boundaries in 1 over. It's Samson vs Delhi at the moment. If Tewatia can do a Tewatia and if Samson can carry on in this vein, who knows what might happen in the last 5 overs.
RR 82/5 after 15, need 73 runs from 5 overs
Riyan Parag comes in at 6. Rajasthan needing a turnaround like the one Tyagi gave them last time out. Riyan Parag's stay ends up being a short one. He misses the turn of Axar and is bowled. Tewatia joins Samson with RR now needing a miracle.
RR 59/5 after 13
Rabada back into the attack and he gets a wicket straightaway! Lomror swings away to the leg side. Straight to fine leg. Gone for 19. Rajasthan's innings in tatters, even as Samson keeps holding his end up.
RR 48/4 after 10.2
Mahipal Lomror continues having his time under the sun, years after his more specialist U-19 WC teammates made their marks in international cricket. Looking easy on the eye as he builds a partnership in attempt of a Rajasthan recovery. Axar and Ashwin continue bowling for DC.
RR 48/3 after 10
Ashwin bowls another tight over. Samson pounces on the one ball which had some loop on it, slamming it for four past point. Axar Patel, Ashwin's competitor for a place in India's XI in the T20 WC, now joins him from the other end.
RR 34/3 after 8
Samson (5*) and Lomror (3*) make it to the end of powerplay against Delhi's ruthless bowling. RR: 21/3 (6 overs)
Ashwin joins the party and he scalps the wicket of Miller (7). The batsman shimmies down the wicket, misses the ball and Pant completes the formalities. DC's bowling is proving to be too hot to handle for RR! RR: 17/3 (4.2 overs)
RR get a second chance! After Samson is called caught behind, the skipper goes for a DRS. Nothing on UltraEdge and he is adjudged to be not out. Nortje keeps the pressure on well, concedes just two runs in his over. RR: 17/2 (4 overs)
The agony doubles up for the Royals! Jaiswal (5) is sent back to the pavilion by Nortje... on his first ball of the innings. The pacer pitches it outside off, Jaiswal gets an edge on it and Pant makes no mistake with the catch. RR: 6/2 (1.1 overs)
Calamity in the first over! After some good running in the opening five balls by Livingstone (1) and Jaiswal, the former is caught behind! Avesh Khan strikes in his first over! Pant with a diving catch behind the wickets. RR: 6/1 (1 over)
“Zyaada soch mat, (dont overthink) keep it simple!” was the cry from captain Sanju Samson from behind the stumps at the start of the 18th over. The advise was perhaps something to do with Tyagi’s previous over where he leaked 16 runs, with Shimron Hetmeyer looting three fours. He repeatedly made room on the leg side and carved the full, length, and short deliveries behind square on the off side. Perhaps, Samson wanted more consistency, and hence that suggestion to keep it simple. What happened? A outside-off yorker followed which was called wide. Then another one down the leg, and Samson was left holding his hands akimbo. 11 runs came off the over and those 27 from two helped Delhi move past 150. Tyagi had started well, almost continuing from his last game's last-over heroics, as he removed Shikhar Dhawan. It went a bit pear shaped in the end.
Mustafizur bowls a great 20th over, Ashwin and Lalit kept under check as they look to score quickly at the death. Ashwin shows the balue of running to your end even when there is no hope. He had no chance of making it but still kept running. Mustafizur fails to get him run out. Ashwin manages to get 2. Excellent running to end their innings!
DC get to 154/6 after 20 overs.
Mustafizur finishes with 2/22 in 4 overs.
Tyagi, Sakariya and Mustafizur to bowl the last 3 overs one by one. Tyagi gets no success. 11 runs off his over. Sakariya bowls the 19th. Axar slogs a six down the ground. Then next ball, he goes aerial again, and is caught by Miller.Ashwin joins Lalit with 10 balls left.
DC 142/6 after 18.2
It's Hetmyer on the charge! Kartik Tyagi at the end of his charge. Consecutive fours slammed past point. Another short ball, again the length used to push it into the third man fence. 16 runs off the 16th over!
Mustafizur snares Hetmyer! The man from Satkkhira gets a yorker to land in the blockhole, Hetmyer slices to third man. Fantastic delivery to get the danger man! Hetmyer gone for 28.
DC 123/5 after 16.5
Lalit Yadav joins Hetmyer. Sakariya also back into the attack. But he is instead attacked by Hetmyer. His bat speed as quick as a Boeing headed to the Caribbean for a summer break. A four hammered past extra cover. Then past long on. DC cross 100 with Hetmyer providing the impetus that they looked to have lost with Iyer's wicket.
DC 104/4 after 15
Hetmyer goes down on his knees and heaves Shamsi away to the leg side, making his intentions clear early on. Iyer, now in his 40s, steps out to Shamsi too, a lofted shot lands just one drop away from the fielder at long on. Tewatia, running in with a Prasanna-ish action, bowls a wide. Iyer looks to step out and drive. Misses. Samson swipes the bails off. Is that a wicket? Replays to decide DC's highest scorers's fate. And he is out! Shreyas Iyer falls for 43 (32). Stumped. Tewatia gets a freak wicket.
DC 90/4 after 13.2
Mustafizur Rahman back into the attack just as Delhi begin to look comfortable against spin. And he gets through Pant's defence. gone for a run-a-ball 24. The partnershep is broken. Iyer joined by Hetmyer.
DC 83/3 after 11.4
Shreyas Iyer now looks to break free of the shackles. First Tewatia is sent back over his head for a six down the ground. Then Shamsi is smashed for a six hit inside out over extra cover.
DC 79/2 after 11
Shamsi, the South African who is now the No.1 T20 bowler, according to the ICC rankings, and Tewatia, the two leg spinners now bowl in tandem as the field spreads out. Boundaries are few are far between. Pant sweeps Shamsi for four, just the 4th boundary of the innings.
DC 56/2 after 9
Tyagi, continuing, strays outside the off stump and Shreyas Iyer crashes a drive through the off side. Now another bouncer from Tyagi and Pant manages to hoick it away over short fine leg for another four. 11 runs off the 6th over. The Powerplay ends with DC at 36/2.
Now it's the other opener who falls. Sakariya now gets the wicket. Shaw holes out with an easy catch to Livingstone. He's gone for 10. Iyer and Rishabh Pant, skipper and ex-skipper now at the crease.
DC 21/2 after 4.1
Mahipal Lomror for the 2nd over. Dhawan flat bats his first ball away for a four on the off side. The first boundary of the match. Dhawan misses the turn of the ball with an attempted sweep and the ball passes perilously close to his off stump. Sakariya bowls the 3rd over, Delhi building their city brick by brick. Kartik Tyagi into the attack for the 4th. And his first ball brings a wicket! Dhawan is bowled! Gone for 8.
DC 18/1 after 3.1
Shaw faces the first ball of the match. Mustafizur bowls the first over for Rajasthan. Shaw and Dhawan work the ball around in the first over.
DC 6/0 after 1
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Liam Livingstone, David Miller, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Kartik Tyagi, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman, Tabraiz Shamsi
Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Lalit Yadav, Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan
Rajasthan Royals have won the toss and have opted to field first. DC to open with Dhawan and Shaw in a few more minutes then.
It's pitch number 8, a day game in Abu Dhabi and it will be tough on the players. A new strip, but it's similar to the other surfaces, there is a bit of moisture on the surface. It's firm, but there is no base underneath, need to show intent with the bat and the spinners will dominate. You will not be able to drive on the up, the pacers will be challenging on this surface, says Matthew Hayden in his pitch report.
There is an injury cloud over Stoinis. In terms of overseas players, DC have Steve Smith, Sam Billings and Tom Curran to come into the XI. Toss and team news in half an hour.
Less than one hour to the toss.
Points table:
For whatever reason you'd like to know who the 22 players taking the field today will be two hours before the match - maybe you're wondering if the only player from northeast India in the IPL will be retaining his place in the XI, maybe you're Sam Curran and you're wondering if your brother has finally made it to the XI, maybe you've bet your entire fortune on Tewatia smashing five sixes in an over - here's our attempt at predicting the two playing XIs.
Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (capt/wk), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan
Rajasthan Royals: Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (capt/wk), Liam Livingstone, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Chetan Sakariya, Kartik Tyagi, Mustafizur Rahman
Operating like a well-oiled unit (we swear this coverage is not sponsored by UAE's oil industry!!), Delhi Capitals will be eager to consolidate their top spot when they clash with a resurgent Rajasthan Royals, who will be keen to keep the winning momentum going in the Indian Premier League here on Saturday.
Yellow and welcome! Though yellow is all that stands between Delhi Capitals and the top spot in the points table for now. There will be 4 matches left for DC in the league phase after their match tonight. The business end of the IPL approaches (no reference to the oil industry in the current venue of the tournament).
On the other hand, the stakes are even higher for Rajasthan Royals. Without Buttler, Stokes and Archer, they wear the look of a colonial era monument like the Victoria Memorial running on museum exhibits sourced from smaller museums around the country. It was one such unheralded exhibit, Kartik Tyagi, who got them the 2 points last time out. Can they produce something similar tonight?
Toss at 3 pm IST.