The sides played out a competitive game, but its end was marred with a scandal that saw a seemingly clear no-ball decision not being given by the on-field umpires. That incident took away the enjoyable aspects of the match, as RR batter Jos Buttler carried on with his stupendous form, bringing up his third hundred of the season in just seven games.
The Delhi innings was a stop-start affair before 36 off the final over almost seemed possible before the squabble at the end. The victory put the Royals into first place, ahead of Gujarat Titans and Royal Challengers Bangalore, who also have ten points. Prasidh Krishna put up a memorable performance on a day which wasn’t exactly kind to the bowlers.
The Capitals, whose coach Ricky Ponting also went into isolation after testing positive for coronavirus, won the toss and decided to bowl. RR openers Buttler and Devdutt Padikkal were up to the task and played brilliantly from the very outset. The Englishman looked in seriously good form as he struck boundaries at will during the first half of the innings.
The young Padikkal also performed his role to perfection, piercing the gaps and playing the big shots whenever required. The two played a rather circumspect powerplay before laying into the Delhi attack. Buttler, in particular, played the spinners expertly, bringing out the reverse sweep to great effect.
The openers showed no signs of getting dismissed as the run rate was consistently above ten an over, while both Buttler and Padikkal got to their half-centuries. Buttler’s half-century freed him entirely, and he subsequently went hell for leather on the Delhi bowlers, reaching 99 in no time when Padikkal lost his wicket.
The England international brought up his third century of the season shortly after, as he closed in on 500 runs. Sanju Samson came in at No. 3 and played some characteristically fantastic shots to keep the Royals on track for a huge total. His side eventually posted a mammoth 222/2 in 20 overs to set the Capitals a daunting target.
David Warner scored boundaries for fun in the powerplay. The Aussie veteran smashed five boundaries and a maximum in the first over as he threatened to pose a serious challenge to the Royals attack. However, Krishna managed to get rid of him before he did too much damage.
Sarfaraz Khan was also quickly in and out of the crease before Rishabh Pant and Prithvi Shaw looked to stabilise the innings. The latter was not his usual self but recovered towards the end of his knock, scoring a few boundaries, before holing out to Trent Boult at deep extra cover.
Pant also looked extremely dangerous, getting to 44 in quick time, but it was clearly Krishna’s day, as the Delhi skipper skied one to Padikkal, who took an excellent catch. It was only downwards from then on for the Capitals for quite some time, as wickets fell very quickly. Lalit Yadav, however, did manage to spark hope for DC, scoring a couple of sixes to keep his side in the race.
With 36 needed in two overs, the onus was on Yadav to get his side close to the finish line. However, a sensational over from Krishna completely changed the course of the game, as he bowled a wicket-maiden, also dismissing Lalit in the process.
Nobody expected 36 to be chased down in the last over, but marauder Rovman Powell had slightly different plans. The Windies batsman smashed three sixes off the first three balls of the final over to mount the pressure on the bowler, but controversy struck on the third ball, as the umpires did not give a seemingly obvious no-ball, much to the fury of the Delhi camp.
Pant signalled to his players to step out of the field, whereas the support staff rushed on to it to convince Powell and Yadav. However, the umpires instructed the batsmen to stay on the pitch. By this time, the momentum was ruined for the Capitals, who eventually lost by 15 runs.
Brief scores
Rajasthan Royals 222 for 2 (Buttler 116, Padikkal 54, Samson 46*) beat Delhi Capitals 207 for 8 (Pant 44, Prasidh 3-22) by 15 runs
