IPL: Delhi defeat Rajasthan to continue IPL domination

Delhi Capitals don’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.

Despite an unimpressive performance in the first inning, DC managed to beat Rajasthan Royals by 33 runs.

The 155-run target seemed mediocre for the Rajasthan side, until the Delhi pace cartel began pulling their tricks out of the bag.

Rajasthan were restricted to only 121/6 with their openers returning early to the hut.

Middle-order rescues Delhi

It all came down to the middle-order batters’ contribution today for both sides.

Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan have been brilliant throughout the campaign as they bring an ice-fire combination to the table.

However, their early departure today meant that it was up to the middle order to deliver the goods.

Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh pant steadied the ship then.

When Pant departed for 24, Iyer kept the scoreboard ticking and played according to the pitch condition.

“Rishabh and I have been playing together for the last five years. It is good fun because he takes on bowlers as soon as he comes on,” Iyer said in the post-game interview.

As for Rajasthan, none of their middle-order batters rose to the occasion apart from the skipper.

Samson’s efforts in vain

Sanju Samson struck a brilliant half-century only to see his team slump to another defeat this campaign.

Leading the team for the first time in the IPL, his performance has been sublime so far.

However, lack of firepower and partnerships have consistently hurt them.

He stood head and shoulder above others, scoring 70* not out off 53 balls whereas the rest of the team scored 45 of 73.

Samson admitted that the target looked within reach, but losing partners from the other end never helped the cause.

“I thought the total was gettable but we lost too many wickets and weren’t able to get any momentum in our chase,” the RR captain explained.

“We might consider changes for the next game, but it is too early now. We have to remove all emotion before that.”

Nortje leads from the front

Get aside Kagiso Rabada and Avesh Khan, Delhi Capitals have a new pace spearhead!

Anrich Nortje has been bowling exceptionally well ever since he joined the DC camp in the UAE leg.

His pacy spells have been bamboozling the batters of every team.

Against Rajasthan Royals, he dismissed in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal early to mount pressure on Samson and co.

His 2/16 in the quota kept the RR batsmen on backfoot throughout the game.

Rabada and Avesh kept their lines inch-perfect as well. The pace cartel had already weaved a plan on how would they topple Royals early.

“It was quite slow, but Shreyas said it was difficult to hit straight. So we were trying to get them to hit straight. All the bowlers did a great job. We try and share ideas as much as we can, and then you make the most of it,” Nortje revealed after the game

One of Nortje’s go-to weapons in his fiery spells is yorker.

He has been using yorkers right in the blockholes, not allowing the batters to hit him at will.

“[On yorkers] Depends on who is batting, but it’s great when it works,” the right-arm speedster continued.

“We work quite hard on fitness. I don’t know when the season’s stopping, so you have to stay fit.”

Delhi Capitals 154 for 6 (Iyer 43, Hetmyer 28, Mustafizur 2-22) beat Rajasthan Royals 121 for 6 (Samson 70*, Nortje 2-18, Ashwin 1-20) by 33 runs.