Kuldeep, Mukesh, openers seal crucial win for Capitals
A superb batting effort from Fraser-McGurk, Porel and Stubbs took Capitals to 221
A superb batting effort from Fraser-McGurk, Porel and Stubbs took Capitals to 221
Scorer: @Thilak_Rama | Commentator: Himanshu and Ekanth
There are no teams which have confirmed their playoffs berth yet but that might change tomorrow as SRH take on LSG. This game had a rich story and a lot of narratives. Abhimanyu Bose has em in the match report, check it out. Hope this tournament continues to have us invested and dish out a few more close games. For now, it's goodbye from me, Ekanth, my co-commentator - Himanshu, and our scorers, M Venkat Raghav and Thilak Rama.
Kuldeep Yadav, POTM: It's very important to bowl on a good length, that's the challenge when you bowl at the death. I knew Ferreira was a back-foot player and pitched it up. Got him out, then varied my pace and length. I felt it was gripping when I bowled googlies. Then bowled seam-up to see what the batters were doing, not be predictable. Not thinking too much about par scores here, saw vs SRH and GT that there's always pressure even if you make 240-250. But there's always chances to pick wickets. You have to be smart to see what the batters are doing, back your strength and believing.
Rishabh Pant, DC captain: In the back end, the way our fast bowlers nailed the yorkers was great. Lot of positive to take from each match, regardless of whether we win or loss. The thought was always there for Rovman and Dominic. We wanted to take that chance as always, thinking they'd have problems. As always, Kuldeep delivered. I think our score was close to par. I think with the Impact Player we wanted to see how things were going and delay the decision on the Impact Player as much as possible.
Murtaza: "Third umpire took almost 2 3 angel to check wide review in 18.6 over but samson catch he didn't took much time. What a shame." I don't know if that's the definitive marker but don't expect that chat to get resolved with ease. FWIW I thought the better call was made but am not 100% convinced.
Mukesh Kumar: I wanted to bowl two dots in the final over. I wanted to get him (Powell) out which I did. I feel good to back my strengths but had to use variations on this pitch. Kuldeep's over (18th) was the turning point in the match. 210 was par but as the runs came, 20 was a lot for us. The two points are crucial.
Sanju Samson, RR captain: We had it in our hands, it was 10-11 rpo which was achievable but these things happen in the IPL. (Toss) I think we're doing both things fine, we want to stick to what the conditions demand. 220 was 10 too much, had we conceded 2 boundaries less, we'd have gotten through easily. DC batted really well. Their opener (Fraser-McGurk) started well, kept doing what he has through the tournament. Ashwin got him out. I felt we gave away too much in the last two overs. We have lost 3 games but all have been tight. We have been playing great cricket throughout. Results can go either way but we need to keep the fine tuning going and come back as this tournament doesn't allow us to relax. (On their death bowling) We have to give credit to Stubbs for how he batted against Sandeep, who has been our best in the last 10-11 games. He scored 2-3 extra sixes. We have to look at where we went wrong and move forward.
11:26pm RR have to wait longer to confirm their playoff spot. DC stay in the race. The 20-run margin of victory is bigger than how close this game was, but their death bowling was exceptional. Kuldeep in the 18th and Rasikh in the 19th especially. A few points will be in focus this game, the third-umpire call of Samson's catch in particular. It was as close as boundary catches get, the third umpire ruled it out and RR lost wickets regularly in the death. They were in control if not calling the shots for a lot of this innings. Jaiswal and Buttler - who was lucky - didn't make much but Samson's power-hitting from deep in the crease was spectacular and effective. Parag and Dubey stitched handy partnerships. DC's bowlers' plans to go wide and bowl length didn't always click but the former did come through towards the death. Khaleel's over with four wides went for just 11 which was also a highlight. Powell was RR's last hope but his wicket in the final over sealed the deal.
Mukesh gets in a tangle while approaching the action
Kenny: "In Delhi always bat first, this has been the trend this season so far."
R Powell b Mukesh Kumar 13 (36m 10b 1x4 1x6) SR: 130.00
Powell had to come on strike. Five sixes or four sixes and a four needed, unless there are wides/no-balls involved. Pant takes further time out, sets the field and Mukesh sets himself up.
DC are ten minutes behind and can have only four fielders in the outfield. Point is the only guy on the offside. Mukesh has 29 to defend
The Rajasthan Royals captain engaged the on-field umpires in a prolonged conversation after third umpire Michael Gough had ruled him out
The Bengal batter has batted at six different positions in IPL 2024 and his latest innings at the top of the order highlighted his versatility
A superb batting effort from Fraser-McGurk, Porel and Stubbs took Capitals to 221
How ESPNcricinfo's ball-by-ball commentary called the 28-run over by Avesh Khan, courtesy Jake Fraser-McGurk
The left-arm wristspinner bowled a game-changing over for Delhi Capitals at the death