Rajasthan Royals registered their maiden victory of the 11th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) after defeating Delhi Daredevils in a rain-curtailed encounter by 10 runs.
Courtesy some good batting by skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson, Royals had posted a competitive 153 for five on the board in 17.5 overs. The rain came pouring down and it resumed only at 10:55.
Delhi was set a target of 71 runs to win in six overs. None of the batsmen could keep smashing the big shots as they eventually fell short by 10 runs.
Despite some good hitting by Rishabh Pant and Glenn Maxwell, Delhi fell short at the end.
The Royals’ openers Ajinkya Rahane and D’Arcy Short came out to begin proceedings. Short smashed a good shot before getting run out by Ravi Shankar.
Rahane struck some good shots and looked in complete control of proceedings. Ben Stokes has been promoted up the order.
However, the southpaw looked in good touch and struck a four and a six before falling to Trent Boult. It was an amazing delivery which totally squared up Stokes.
Sanju Samson struck a couple of fours and sixes during his breezy knock of 37 of just 22 deliveries. It was his innings which gave Rajasthan the much-needed impetus.
Rahul Tripathi also provided a late blitz and scored 15 of 11 deliveries which included a solitary six.
Meanwhile, wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler also looked in ominous touch during his brief stay of 29 of 18 balls. His innings was studded with a couple of fours and sixes each.
Rains came pouring down suddenly and the match was halted in the 18th over. There were no chances of play in the next two hours. However, the rain gods decided to stop pouring. Hence a six-over game was possible.
Delhi was set a target of 71 to win in 6 overs. With all 10 wickets in hand, it seemed a realistic target to chase down for Delhi.
However, the Rajasthan Royals bowlers had some other ideas in mind. Krishnappa Gowtham began with a brilliant over where he inflicted a run-out and conceded just 10 runs.
Colin Munro was the man dismissed but Glenn Maxwell was still there. He was joined by the hard-hitting batsman Rishabh Pant. Dhawal Kulkarni bowled a magnificent second over conceding just a couple of runs.
Pant struck three fours during his 14-ball 20 while Morris also remained unbeaten on 17 of 7 deliveries including a couple of fours and a six. He smashed the last ball of the match for a six but by then, the Royals had already pocketed the game.
Captain Ajinkya Rahane was a relieved man after the victory. Here is what he said at the post-match presentation:
“Good way to start at home. We were thinking that 71 will be little difficult in 6 overs. But we focused on things we could control. Our bowlers did a fantastic job. When we were batting we thought 165-170 would have been a good score. First over from Gowtham was very crucial. T20 is all about starting from zero, whether we win or lose. We will enjoy this win and move forward.”
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