Delhi Daredevils kept their hopes alive of reaching the playoffs stage in a rain-curtailed match with a thrilling 4 run win via DLS method in the 32nd match of VIVO IPL 2018 played at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, New Delhi. It was a great batting display by Delhi Daredevils to post a massive total in 17.1 overs. The revised target for RR was big but fell short by just 4 runs.
In rain reduced match to 18 overs, Rajasthan Royals captain Ajiyanka Rahane won the toss and elected to field first. Dhawal Kulkarni got off to a great start by dismissing Collin Munro in very first over for 0. Prithvi Shaw impressed with aggressive hitting while Iyer gave him support.
The power play overs were reduced to 5. At the end of 5 overs, Delhi Daredevils were 48 for 1. Shaw continued his aggressive hitting and put pressure on Rajasthan Royals bowling.  The young Shaw gave a solid foundation, was dismissed for 47 runs by Sheryas Gopal. Both Iyer and Shaw added 73 runs for the 2nd wicket.
Both Pant and Iyer continued Delhi Daredevils momentum with aggressive hitting from both of them. The hard-hitting Pant reached his half-century off 23 balls while Iyer completed his half-century too off 34 balls. Jaydev Unadkat dismissed Daredevils captain Sheryas Iyer for 50. Both Iyer and Pant added 92 runs to put Delhi on course for a big total. In the same over, Unadkat dismissed well set Pant for 69.
Vijay Shankar came to the crease and scored a quick-fire 17 off 6 balls. Glenn Maxwell again failed to contribute. Â Delhi Daredevils ended the innings at 196 for 6 in 17.1 overs when rain arrived. For Rajasthan Royals, Unadkat picked 3 wickets going over 11 runs per over.
The revised target for Rajasthan Royals was 151 in 12 overs. The powerplay overs were reduced to just 4 overs. Jos Buttler smashed the Delhi Daredevils bowlers with aggressive hitting. Â At the end of 4 overs, Rajasthan Royals scored 58 for 0.
Jos Buttler completed his half-century off just 18 balls while Darcy Short struggled to time the ball and continued to smash Delhi Daredevils bowlers. Amit Mishra got the big breakthrough of Jos Buttler for 67 runs. Both Short and Buttler added 82 runs for opening wicket.
Sanju Samson scored just 3 runs and was dismissed by Trent Boult. In the same over, Ben Stokes has dismissed also for 1 run. Darcy Short then played with positive intent scoring 44 off 25 balls.
With 30 runs required off last 2 overs, Gowtham and Tripathi hit 15 runs from Liam Plunkett over. Trent Boult bowled a brilliant last over giving away just 10 runs. Delhi Daredevils won the match by 4 runs via DLS method.
DD 196 for 6 in 17.1 overs ( Pant 69, Iyer 50, Shaw 47, Unadkat 3/46) beat
RR 146 for 5 in 12 overs ( Buttler 67, Darcy Short 44, Gowtham 18*, Trent Boult 2/26) by 4 runs DLS method
RR captain Rahane said: Disappointed to lose the match. Chasing 151 runs in 12 overs was difficult. Buttler did a great job with the bat. The wicket was very good to bat on. We could have batted better and the results would have been different. Now all the matches for us are knockout.
DD captain Iyer said: It was an amazing effort from our boys. Shaw and Pant were brilliant. We needed a big total on a good batting pitch. Trent Boult bowled brilliantly, not allowing Rajasthan Royals to score runs. We need to continue the winning momentum from today onwards to qualify for playoffs stage. The wicket was a good batting pitch and 200 was even less. Our bowlers held their nerves and kept us alive in the tournament.
Man of the match Rishabh Pant said: I am batting great and happy to win for my team. As a team, we are positive enough and are eager to perform well in the upcoming matches. The intent is the same in every match but the way we bowled in the death overs was brilliant.
This is Delhi’s third win of the tournament. The previous time these two teams met in this tournament, Rajasthan Royals won the match via DLS method.
Kolkata Knight Riders will face Chennai Super Kings at Eden Gardens in tomorrow’s match.
