Mitchell Starc was the difference between the two sides as DC upstaged RR and dented their playoff hopes. Mitchell Starc picked up 3 wickets in an over to change the game while bowling first. RR looked good to go way over 200 with Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel getting to 50s, while Vaibhav Sooryavanshi got 49 quick runs. Mitchell Starc got 4 wickets while Lungi Ngidi and Madhav Tiwari got 2 wickets apiece as RR were kept to 193/8 in 20 overs.
Chasing 194, DC rode on half-centuries from KL Rahul and Abishek Porel, before Axar Patel took over with an important unbeaten knock, before Impact Player Ashutosh Sharma took over and finished things off in style, remaining unbeaten on 18 off 5 balls. DC got over the line with some hiccups and stayed in contention for the playoffs, while RR now have some work to do in the final week of the tournament.
Mitchell Starc’s 4-Wicket Haul helps DC restrict RR to 193/8 after a whirlwind start
Put into bat first, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi came out to bat for RR while Mitchell Starc had the ball in hand for DC. The RR team got off to a fast start, with Vaibhav off and running. Jaiswal too got some crisp boundaries away early on. The opening duo tried to lay the base but could put 19 for the first wicket before Jaiswal fell for 12 off 9 balls with 3 fours to his name to Lungi Ngidi. Keeper batter Dhruv Jurel came out to bat next.
Vaibhav then upped the ante and took on the bowling that came their way. Vaibhav was the aggressor while Jurel held one end up and was solidifying the position of RR. The power play score at the end of 6 overs was 75/1, and RR looked to get a huge total. The duo continued to bat in the middle phase of the game as well. The duo put on exactly 70 runs for the second wicket before Vaibhav fell for 46 off 21 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Madhav Tiwari.
Captain Riyan Parag came out to bat next. Parag survived a scare as Tristan Stubbs thought of having completed the catch, but the TV umpire deemed otherwise. Parag made the most of that reprieve and looked good out there. He then became the aggressor while Jurel played the perfect role of the anchor player. It was a welcome return to form and XI for RR captain Riyan Parag. The duo of Parag and Jurel aced the middle phase and dominated the proceedings. The duo put on 72 for the third wicket before Parag fell for 51 off 26 balls with 3 fours and 5 sixes to his name to Mitchell Starc.
The score was 161/2 in 14.1 overs when Parag was holed out in the deep. Donovan Ferreira came out to bat next. Starc had two in two balls as Ferreira fell for a golden duck. Ravi Singh came to face the hat-trick ball and got off the mark with a boundary. Starc got another wicket in the over and made it 3 in it as Ravi fell for 4 off 2 balls with one four to his name. Shubham Dubey came out to bat next as the match turned on its head.
Dubey never really got going while Jurel was hanging in there tough. The duo added 8 runs for the 6th wicket before Dubey fell for 5 off 9 balls to Madhav Tiwari. Dasun Shanaka, the Impact Player, came out to bat next. Shanaka got himself in and hit a maximum as well. Jurel and Shanaka tried to forge a partnership of note and added 14 runs for the 7th wicket before Shanaka fell for 10 off 8 balls with one six to his name to Mitchell Starc.
Jofra Archer came out to bat next. DC bowled really well in the back half of the innings. Jurel and Archer added 4 more runs to the tally before Jurel fell off the last ball of the innings after completing his half-century. Jurel fell to Ngidi for 53 off 40 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes to his name. Adam Milne came to join Archer in the middle. Just 2 runs came off the last two balls of the innings as RR were restricted to 193/8 in 20 overs. Archer was unbeaten on 2 off 2 balls, and the same was the case with Milne. 8 extras given by the DC bowlers.
The Delhi bowlers came back well with the ball after RR were off to a fantastic start. Mitchell Starc was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/40 in 4 overs, which included 3 wickets in a single over. Lungi Ngidi bowled well for his 2/24 in 4 overs. Madhav Tiwari was impressive in his 2/27 in 4 overs. Axar Patel finished with 0/31 in 4 overs. Tripurana Vijay finished with 0/29 in 2 overs on debut, while Mukesh Kumar was clobbered for 40 runs in 2 overs. This meant that DC needed 194 runs to win off 20 overs to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
KL Rahul & Abishek Porel’s sparkling fifties help DC upstage RR by 5 wickets
Chasing 194 for the win, Abishek Porel and keeper batter KL Rahul came out to open for DC while Jofra Archer had the ball in hand for RR. DC got off to a rollicking start as Porel took the attack to the opposition. Rahul was happy to take the backseat and play second fiddle out there. The duo aced the power play as they scored 72/0 in 6 overs to set the stage on fire. It was the Porel show in the initial stage of the game. The duo played for 10 overs as DC raced to 105/0 in 10 overs.
RR finally got the breakthrough as Porel was dismissed for 51 off 31 balls with 7 fours and one six to his name to Brijesh Sharma. Sahil Parakh came out to bat next. Parakh and Rahul tried to forge another partnership and added 17 runs for the second wicket before Parakh fell for 9 off 8 balls with one four to his name to Jofra Archer. Captain Axar Patel came out to bat next.
Rahul rode his luck as he was initially dropped on 0* by Yash Punja. Axar looked fluent out there while Rahul slowed down a bit towards the end. Just 11 runs were added between Axar and KL Rahul before Rahul fell for 56 off 42 balls with one four and three sixes to his name as he was cleaned up by Dasun Shanaka. Tristan Stubbs came out to bat next. Axar kept the fight going for DC while Stubbs struggled out there in the middle. The duo added a crucial 20 runs in quick time before Stubbs fell for 4 off 6 balls to Archer. David Miller came out to bat next.
Some tactical errors happened from RR. Donovan Ferreira was given the ball as Miller and Axar hit a six each in that over. The duo of Miller and Axar added 22 runs in quick time again before Miller fell for 9 off 6 balls with a maximum to his name to Brijesh Sharma, with the equation now down to 19 runs off 11 balls. Ashutosh Sharma came in as the Impact Player.
He took a few singles in before taking charge and playing the perfect role of the finisher. He hit a maximum to almost seal the deal in the 19th over. He then hit a boundary down the ground to long-off and finished the game off with the maximum off Adam Milne. Axar remained unbeaten on 34 off 18 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name, while Ashutosh remained unbeaten on 18 off 5 balls with one four and two sixes to his name. A whopping 16 extras given by the fielding side, RR.
From RR’s point of view, Jofra Archer finished with 2/35 in 4 overs. Brijesh Sharma finished with 2/44 in 4 overs. Dasun Shanaka finished with 1/29 in 3 overs. Yash Raj Punja finished with 0/29 in 4 overs. Adam Milne finished with 0/41 in 3.2 overs. Donovan Ferreira bowled an over for 16 runs. So, DC upstage RR by 5 wickets with 4 balls to spare to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Mitchell Starc was awarded the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead
So, DC with this win keeps their hopes alive, while RR now can only get to 16 points. DC has just one game left against KKR in Kolkata on May 24th, which will be the last league game of the tournament. RR has to host LSG next in Jaipur on Tuesday, May 19th. So, with one week to go and 8 matches, only RCB have qualified for the playoffs. Next up is the Southern Derby as CSK hosts SRH in Chennai on Monday night. A must-win clash for CSK now.
Let’s see how things unfold in the coming week, the final one of the league stage of the tournament.
Also Read:Â DC vs RR: DC In Must-Win Scenario Against Rampant RR