In a thrilling game that was filled with a lot of twists and turns, Delhi Capitals (DC) beat Rajasthan Royals (RR) via a Super Over at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday, ascending to the peak of the points table.
Against a slow pitch, late explosive appearances by captain Axar Patel, Tristan Stubbs, and Ashutosh Sharma helped DC stage a comeback from a tough spot, ending up with a fighting score of 188/5. Rajasthan Royals replied with an attacking chase, led by Yashasvi Jaiswal and Nitish Rana, both of whom scored 51 runs.
But a vital performance by Mitchell Starc in the last over, where he defended 9 runs, took the game into a Super Over, the first time since 2022 that it had happened in the IPL. Starc was once again the savior for DC in the Super Over, holding RR to 12 runs. Stubbs and KL Rahul remained calm, taking DC to a thrilling victory, their first win of the season in New Delhi.
In the Super Over, Starc bowled against Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer. The RR pair scored a boundary each off him, one of which was off a no-ball. They were run out on consecutive deliveries, though, leaving a target of 12 runs for DC.
DC's pursuit began confidently, with Rahul taking two runs off the first ball before cutting Sandeep Sharma for a four. Stubbs then sealed victory by pulling Sandeep over deep mid-wicket for a six, clinching DC's win one ball in advance. This was DC's fourth Super Over victory in the history of IPL.
Rajasthan Royals had been explosive in their pursuit earlier. Sanju Samson and Jaiswal had launched the innings with a flourish, hitting sixes off Mukesh Kumar. Jaiswal, with his aggressive shots, took on Mitchell Starc and pulled a raft of boundaries, including a six off the Australian paceman. In spite of a drop on 20, Samson continued playing his attacking game, hitting Mukesh over long-on for a six and moving off the edge of Mohit Sharma for another boundary.
Following a rib injury that sent Samson off the field for 31, Rajasthan was still in the hunt with Jaiswal's free-flowing game, such as a 51-run 34-ball knock. But while trying to accelerate the scoring rate further, Jaiswal was caught at long-on by Axar Patel for 51.
Rana gave RR hope with some stunning shots, including a six and a couple of boundaries. His 51 off only 26 balls ended when he got trapped lbw by a stunning yorker from Starc, leaving the gate open for a late DC turnaround. Dhurv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer chipped in with a couple of boundaries, but Starc's accuracy in the last over reduced the match to a Super Over cliffhanger.
The bowlers of Rajasthan had stifled DC earlier, keeping them to 111/4 in 15 overs. Axar Patel added some energy into the innings with a quick 34 off 14 balls, and Stubbs chipped in with 34 off 18 balls. Ashutosh Sharma provided a quick-scoring 15 as DC closed out strongly with 77 runs coming off the last five overs.
RR's bowlers, particularly Jofra Archer, contained DC, but Axar, Stubbs, and Sharma's late hitting ensured they ended with a fighting total. Sharma made good use of Archer's pace, while Sandeep Sharma's wayward bowling was punished by Stubbs with a boundary and a six.
In the pursuit, RR found it difficult to extricate itself as Sandeep and Maheesh Theekshana made the screws tighter. Wanindu Hasaranga chipped in some grip and added a perfectly timed googly to keep the batters at bay. Although Rahul's boundaries were ideally timed, he was unable to clear the field and got caught in the deep. Porel's bid to go big against Hasaranga saw him get dismissed, leaving DC to rely on the late fireworks from Axar, Stubbs, and Sharma.
DC's 19-run last-over momentum proved to be decisive in laying the platform for the nail-biting Super Over finish, and thanks to Starc's masterful defense, they pulled off a dramatic victory.
Brief Scores:
Delhi Capitals: 188/5 in 20 overs (Abishek Porel 49, KL Rahul 38, Axar Patel 34; Jofra Archer 2-32, Wanindu Hasaranga 1-38)
Rajasthan Royals: 188/4 in 20 overs (Nitish Rana 51, Yashasvi Jaiswal 51; Axar Patel 1-23, Kuldeep Yadav 1-33)
Super Over:
Rajasthan Royals: 12/2 in 5 balls
Delhi Capitals: 13/0 in 4 balls (DC won by 1 run)
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