Kuldeep Yadav proved to be the difference for Delhi Capitals in a high-scoring contest against Rajasthan Royals in Delhi, his spell of 2 for 25 taking his team to No. 5 in the points table and earning him the Player-of-the-Match award.
Chasing 222, RR were in with a chance at the start of the 18th over, needing 41 off 18 balls, but Kuldeep took two wickets and conceded only four runs to swing the game decisively DC's way.
"It's very important to bowl in good length. That is the challenge when you bowl in the death overs, especially when you know they have got power-hitters coming up," Kuldeep said after the match. "I have seen [Donovan] Ferreira, having played against him in South Africa. I knew he is a back-foot player, so I just tried to push it further up. That was my plan to him, [and] I got him first ball. Then I was just varying the pace and the length."
After successfully reviewing the not-out lbw decision against Ferreira off the first ball of the 18th, Kuldeep had R Ashwin caught with his last delivery. He had also conceded only 21 runs in his first three overs, to interrupt RR's growing momentum in the chase.
DC captain Rishabh Pant said the plan was to keep one over of Kuldeep for RR's right-handers - Ferreira and Rovman Powell - at the death.
"The thought was always there because for Rovman and Ferreira we wanted to keep that over," Pant said. "We wanted to take that chance because with Kuldeep, we knew that these players are going to have problems. And as always, Kuldeep delivered - great to see that!"
After Kuldeep left RR with a huge ask in the last two overs, Pant said DC's fast bowlers were spot on in landing their yorkers. Rasikh Salam bowled four in the 19th over - three of them dot balls to Powell - while Mukesh Kumar delivered two in the final over.
"Especially in the back end, the way fast bowlers executed the yorkers [was the turning point]," Pant said. "I think that was a positive, because the way our fast bowling has been going and the way the tournament is progressing, each and every day the bowlers are coming on the positive side, and that's good to see."
Delhi has been a difficult venue for bowlers this season, with all four matches having first-innings totals in excess of 220. DC's 221 against RR was the lowest of the four. "There is always pressure on you as a bowler. You try to mix your length and line," Kuldeep said. "There is a lot of chance to pick wickets, and that's what I did. You have to be smart enough to bowl and read the batter. It's better to back your strengths, and just keep believing."
DC's win on Tuesday took them to fifth place in the points table, level on 12 points with CSK in third place, SRH in fourth and LSG in sixth.