Well begun, sometimes is not half done.
Certainly, not in the case of Rajasthan Royals who started the match by dismissing dangerous opener Prithvi Shaw on the very first ball of the match and their opener Ben Stokes hitting the first ball for a four when a chase of 162 began against Delhi Capitals.
Jofra Archer (4-19-3) was outstanding for RR but DC not only had Kagiso Rabada (4-28-1) but also Anrich Nortje (4-33-2) who rose to the occasion under pressure and even debutant Tushar Deshpande (4-37-2) who was unfazed in death overs.
“Lovely working with KG (Rabada). Tushar has been working in the nets. Enjoying my experience with them,” said Nortje after being adjudged Man of the Match.
Decisive death overs
In a game of small margins, Delhi conceded only 25 runs in the death while RR conceded 32 runs at the death despite some inspiring efforts. However, DC won by a margin of 13 runs and the difference of 8 runs in death overs was a decisive factor.
“Just glad that we won. Stokes and Buttler got off to a great start but we knew it would get tough to bat if we used our line and length smartly along with the field settings,” said Rabada after the match who is the purple cap holder by a mile.
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Even though opener and the acting captain (during the second half of the match) Shikhar Dhawan scored a fiery 57 runs (off just 33 balls with 2 sixes and 6 fours) and was supported by his captain Shreyas Iyer (53 off 43 with 2 sixes and 3 fours), the match was indeed won by the superior bowling outfit in the night.
“(It) was important (that) we stayed positive as a team. Knew their batting isn’t deep. Knew if we got their top-order we can get them. Every time we want them (bowlers) to deliver they’re delivering,” acknowledged Dhawan in a chat with Mark Nicholas who is one of the commentators in the IPL for the host broadcaster.
Besides the magnificent contributions by the pacers, R Ashwin’s dismissal of Royals' captain Steven Smith and his 4 overs costing just 17 runs was a commendable effort, too.
“They changed things around tonight by bowling with pace, taking pace off and varying it nicely, we weren't able to deal with that,” said Smith after the loss.
Two moments of the match
Jos Buttler hit a four off a jaw-dropping 156 kph ball by Nortje in the powerplay. The South African was in no mood to slow down on the next delivery. Nortje bowled almost with the same pace and clean bowled the dangerous looking England player who scored 22 off just 8 balls. The mix-up between young Riyan Parag (who was comically run-out) and Robin Uthappa perhaps summed up the cluttered thinking of Royals batsmen.
(Vimal Kumar has covered multiple cricket world cups and Rio Olympics in the last two decades. The author of Sachin: Cricketer Of The Century and The Cricket Fanatic’s Essential Guide can be reached @Vimalwa on Twitter)
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