DC grabbed the win from RR’s hand, dragged the match to a super over, and won it finally. RR bottled this chase to DC. Minor strategic mistakes create a huge impact on the outcome of the match. Let’s explore the reasons for RR’s defeat.
Mitchell Starc Show
RR required 31 runs in the last 3 overs, and Starc had 2 overs left. He bowled the 18th over and dismissed Nitish Rana, who was striking dangerously. He gave just 8 runs in the 18th over. Starc came to defend just 9 runs in the final over, gave 8 runs, and dragged the match to a super over. He backed his plan of yorkers, and it worked well.
He was given the ball again in the Super over, where he gave two boundaries, but still conceded just 11 runs. He turned the match around for DC and was awarded the man of the match award.
No show for Sandeep Sharma
Sandeep Sharma had the exact opposite day of what Mitchell Starc had. He bowled his first 3 overs brilliantly and gave just 16 runs. He came to bowl the last over, and his bad time started there. He couldn’t execute his plan of bowling wide yorkers and ended up bowling 4 wides and a no-ball.
He bowled 11 balls in that over and entered the unwanted list of the longest over in IPL history. He conceded 17 runs in the final over, and those runs cost the match for RR in the second innings.
He was given the ball in the super over to defend 12 runs. This time, he went for slower ones as he couldn’t nail the yorkers. But, he became as he was trying the slower one with the same line and length. KL Rahul hit a boundary in the second ball, and Tristan Stubbs finished the match with a six in the fourth ball.
A day to forget for Sandeep Sharma, hope he comes back stronger in the next match.
Lack of Game awareness
In the last over, when RR required 3 runs off 2 balls. Shimron Hetmyer hit the ball and ran the first run fast and was ready for the second run, but Dhruv Jurel denied it. Since Shimron Hetmyer was running towards the danger end, Jurel could have taken a chance there. But he denied, and they couldn’t complete the second run in the last ball.
DC sent two in-form batters, KL Rahul and Tristan Stubbs, who performed well in that match, to face the super over. Their best bowler on that day was Mitchell Starc and he bowled the super over. RR did the exact opposite of it.
They sent Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer, who struggled to time the ball to face the super over. Hetmyer was keen on taking a strike, and he ran out his partners in the super over.
Sandeep Sharma was not in his best was given the ball instead of Jofra Archer who has the experience of bowling the super over of a World Cup final in 2019.
Also Read: DC vs RR: Mitchell Starc’s Heroics Pulls Off A Magnificent Turn-Around Against RR