During the 32nd match of the 11th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) between Delhi Daredevils (DD) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) at Delhi, Delhi Daredevils beat Rajasthan Royals by 4 runs (DLS Methord) in a nerve-wrenching match which went down to the wire.
After Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and put the Daredevils in to bat, the home team scored 196-6 in 17.1 overs before rain disturbed their first innings to the extent that it had to be brought to a halt with five deliveries yet to be bowled. The revised target for the Royals was 151 runs from 12 overs.
Royals’ reply was led by a change in the batting order. Knowing that they have to score at a certain rate for just 12 overs, they ended up giving a tough fight to their opposition. Eventually, they ended up scoring 146-5 in 12 overs.
Now, we will look at the hits and flops players in this match.
Hits
Rishabh Pant (DD) – Carrying on his stellar form this season, Rishabh Pant scored his sixth IPL half-century, 69 (29), with the help of seven fours and five sixes. Coming in to bat at No. 4 in the eighth over, he shared a 92-run stand with Shreyas Iyer as the Daredevils posted a substantial total. With 375 runs under his belt in nine matches, he has earned the ‘Orange Cap’ after tonight’s match. He was also adjourned with the ‘Man of the Match’ award.
Jos Buttler (RR) – Jos Buttler took the opportunity of being promoted up the order with both hands as he ended up scoring his second IPL half-century, 67 (26), with the help of four fours and seven sixes. Opening the batting with D’Arcy Short, he used the big handle from the word go in a thrilling chase.
Amit Mishra (DD) – A couple of good overs from one bowler can change the course of a T20 match. This is exactly what Amit Mishra did tonight. His bowling figures of 2-0-12-1 might not suggest much but the fact that they came in at a time when other bowlers of his team gave runs at 13.4 RPO. Furthermore, he was successful in getting the wicket of Jos Buttler, someone who looked set to seal the chase for the opposition.
Flops
Dhawal Kulkarni (RR) – Opening the bowling for Rajasthan Royals, Dhawal Kulkarni proved to be a costly enterprise for his team. He was taken apart by Prithvi Shaw in the powerplay. He ended up registering bowling figures of 3-0-37-1.
Sanju Samson (RR) – Coming in to bat at No. 3 in the seventh over, Sanju Samson was required to play an innings which could have sealed the chase for his team. The platform was set for him, he just has to carry the momentum forward. Failing to do so, he ended up scoring 3 (5).
Avesh Khan (DD) – Avesh Khan has had an impressive IPL season so far. However, tonight was not one of his days where he registered bowling figures of 2-0-36-0. Jos Buttler took him apart in his first over, scoring 23 runs off it.
