Mitchell Starc produced a game-changing four-wicket haul to halt the Rajasthan Royals’ charge as Delhi Capitals secured a vital five-wicket victory to maintain their IPL playoff chances in Delhi on Sunday.
After Rajasthan had surged to 160/2 in 14 overs, Starc’s outstanding 4/40 caused a spectacular collapse. The visitors ultimately managed just 33 runs while losing six wickets to finish at 193/8.
With a 105-run opening stand in only 10.1 overs between KL Rahul (56 off 42) and Abishek Porel (51 off 31), Delhi then made the chase appear manageable for the most part.
Earlier, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal got off to a quick start against Starc, cutting and driving with ease, but Lungi Ngidi dismissed him for 12. Then, with yet another bold stroke, teen star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi lighted up the innings. The young player scored quickly while confidently taking on the Capitals attack by combining sophisticated stroke-play with aggressive, mature defence.
On 31, Sameer Rizvi dropped Sooryavanshi while he was moving backwards off Tripurana Vijay, giving him a reprieve. The left-hander continued to attack till he was dismissed for 46. Madhav Tiwari, who was playing in just his second IPL match, made the breakthrough when Sooryavanshi attempted a lofted hit straight down the ground but was unable to clear the ropes.
Dhruv Jurel (53), on the other hand, played the ideal supporting role before easily accelerating. Rajasthan finished the powerplay at a dominant 75 for one after Jurel destroyed Mukesh Kumar with two fours and a six. Delhi was under intense pressure as Jurel and Sooryavanshi combined for 70 runs for the second wicket.
The attack was resumed by skipper Riyan Parag (51). Madhav’s short ball caused a mistimed heave that almost killed him, but Tristan Stubbs was unable to make a clean low catch.
After that, Parag made Delhi pay a heavy price. As Rajasthan’s scoring rate almost reached 12 runs per over, he hit towering sixes with Axar Patel and then smashed Mukesh Kumar for 23 runs in an over. Parag quickly surpassed Jurel in terms of scoring speed and reached a fast half-century.
Starc decisively reversed the trend just as Rajasthan appeared to be headed for a difficult conclusion. The rampaging Parag was quickly despatched by the Australian left-arm, giving Delhi a much-needed breakthrough. Then, as Rajasthan unexpectedly fell to 161 for six, Starc struck again right away, dismissing Donovan Ferreira for a golden duck. A ball later, he trapped Ravi Singh leg-before.
As Rajasthan lost four wickets in 15 deliveries and the run flow significantly stopped, Madhav joined the party and dismissed Shubham for five. Jurel maintained his composure to finish a skillfully constructed half-century, anchoring the innings till the last overs despite the collapse all around him.
Starc came back to dismiss impact substitute Dasun Shanaka for ten and end with four wickets, his best figures of the season.
