Rajasthan Royalslost to Delhi Capitals by 46 runs as they succumb to their fourth straight loss in IPL 2020 in Sharjah on Friday. In the process, Delhi again pips Mumbai Indians to the top of the points table with five sins from six games. Meanwhile, Rajasthan have slipped below Chennai Super Kings in the points table after this loss to the seventh place. More about the Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Capitals match report in detail below.
Rajasthan Royals Lose Their Fourth Consecutive Game
The Royals were once again back in Sharjah, with a hope to win the game and rediscover the lost form. They won the toss and asked Delhi Capitals to bat first. Delhi were 50 for 3 inside the powerplay after Yashasvi Jaiswal ran out Delhi skipper Shreyas Iyer (11).
Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan made an early return to the pavilion in this game. However, the Delhi middle-order rose to the occasion and pulled things back for their team. Marcus Stoinis (45) and Shimron Hetmyer in particular (39) played with an aggressive approach in the middle-overs. The Patels – Harshal and Axar scored 17 and 16 respectively in quick time to help Delhi finish on 184/8 in their 20 overs from being 109/5 after nearly 14 overs.
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All the Rajasthan bowlers except Jofra Archer went for runs as their death bowling concerns showed up once again. Andrew Tye playing his first match for the Royals went for 50 from his spell taking just one wicket. Rajasthan were pretty happy at the halfway point as this was the first time at this venue that a team couldn’t breach the 200-run mark batting first.
Ashwin Dismisses Buttler Again
The Royals lost Jos Buttler(13) early in the chase to his nemesis Ravichandran Ashwin in the third over. Steve Smith (24 and Jaiswal (36) are the only three batsmen in the top-order who managed to get into double figures. Sanju Samson coming into bat at number four scored just five.
Rahul Tewatia, who had a good fay with the ball, scored a 29-ball 38 but ran out of partners at the other end. The Royals, at the end, were bowled out for 138, as Delhi notched up another big win in the competition.
The pitch showed signs of slowing up in the second innings, Delhi spinners, Ashwin and Patel bowled tight lines and shared three wickets between themselves. Delhi used six bowling options, all of them returned with at least a wicket apiece. Kagiso Rabada took three wickets in the match and took his tally to 15 from six games. Delhi is getting stronger as a team with every game that they are playing and are the team to beat this season.
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Meanwhile, the tournament is getting interesting now with Rajasthan Royls and Chennai losing four games each and Punjab losing five. The fight for the top four spots is intensifying after every game.
What was the Turning Point in the Game?
Rajasthan Royals losing two wickets yet again in the Powerplay and losing Buttler, Smith and Samson in the first 10 overs meant that the chase of 185 to win was always a big ask for Rajasthan Royals’ lower-order batters.
Ravichandran Ashwin for his spell of 2 for 22 including the big wicket of Buttler was chosen as the Man of the Match. He is chipping away with key wickets almost every match.
“One of the important thing in this bowling attack is that most bowlers can bowl at any moment. It is sort of a role where you can put your hand up and be brave about it. Credit goes to the backroom staff. I am in a very good space mentally and physically and it really shows. Really enjoying myself in both those spaces,” said Ravichandran Ashwin reflecting on his performance against RR.
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