Hello and a warm welcome to yet another blog on the daily match reviews on this year’s IPL. I will cover the game between the Delhi Capitals and the Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
Sanju Samson won another toss and opted to field first in a usual high-scoring Delhi track. The DC openers were off to a flyer with Fraser-McGurk notching up a quick fifty, inside the powerplay while his partner Porel brought up his a few overs later. RR fought back with the ball, with Ashwin and Chahal keeping things tight but a late surge by Stubbs gave DC a massive 221. RR lost Jaiswal early but Buttler and Samson were playing well. Buttler fell and soon Parag, but Samson kept batting, notching a superb fifty partnership with Dubey. But the game tilted when Samson got out for his 86, and the RR middle-order once again fell apart, giving the Capitals a massive and important 20-run victory.
In another game where RR threw it in the end, it started with the fireworks of Fraser-McGurk, who is consistently providing DC with a headstart in the powerplay and DC would want him to play at his best in their remaining two games because the last one they played in Kolkata, he feel cheaply and the Capitals were restricted. So he plays that X-factor for DC. RR would be happy that finally, Ashwin had a good game, both economically and by taking 3 crucial wickets. And credit to the DC management for continuously backing Porel, because he has had a rough start to the season but his recent performances have helped DC win games. So I would describe this game which was completely in RR’s control but they faltered not only once but twice during their 222-run chase. The first one was when they were cruising after Jaiswal’s wicket, Axar and Kuldeep bowled a magical spell, taking only a wicket, but didn’t allow Samson or Parag to get two or more boundaries an over, a vital factor when a team is defending 221. The second was when Samson continued tonking the ball along with Dubey mainly because Axar had bowled out but Samson’s wicket, another controversial and nervy call, completely turned the game on its head as Pant masterfully used Kuldeep the next over because he knew that RR were under pressure and this proved to be gold as he got 2 wickets and just conceded 4 runs and these two overs completely changed the game. So RR would be disappointed they let go of another comfortable chase. Still, this win for DC makes the tournament very interesting as 4 teams are tied for 12 points and am sure there will be a dramatic end to this wonderful tournament.
So that’s it for today. Tomorrow is a highly volatile clash, maybe the most important one in the tournament so far, where the Sunrisers take on the Super Giants at Uppal. So stay tuned for that result!