New Delhi, May 17 (IANS) Mitchell Starc turned the match on its head with a devastating four-wicket burst in the death overs as Delhi Capitals restricted Rajasthan Royals to 193/8 in 20 overs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday, despite half-centuries from Dhruv Jurel and skipper Riyan Parag threatening to get the game in favour of the hosts.
Starc had leaked 28 runs in his first two overs, but returned to rip through the RR middle and lower order in his final two overs – conceding just 12 more runs while claiming all four wickets – to trigger a stunning collapse that saw RR lose six wickets for 33 runs in the last six overs after appearing set for a posting a total well above 220.
At 160/2 in the 14th over, RR were seemingly cruising with Parag hitting 51 – his fastest in the IPL. But Starc used slower balls well, changed his pace and angles with accuracy, and coupled with Lungi Ngidi’s pace-off balls meant RR fell in a heap, despite Jurel hitting 53, as DC clawed their way back into the contest.
Before Starc’s squeeze, it was Parag who seized the moment when RR needed it most, walking in after Vaibhav Sooryavanshi enthralled 31, 200 fans by hitting a blistering 21-ball 46. After Sooryavanshi fell, Parag needed no time to settle in and was right on the money from the get-go.
In the first 19 balls he faced, he hit five sixes and a four off Axar Patel and Mukesh Kumar in a spell of clean, muscular hitting that left the DC bowling attack rattled. But before Parag took centre stage, it was Sooryavanshi who set the tone.
The teenage opener began by pulling Ngidi over deep square-leg for a six. From the other end, Yashasvi Jaiswal got off to a flying start by hitting Mitchell Starc for three boundaries in the opening over, with a crisp cover drive being the standout stroke.
Though Jaiswal eventually fell to Ngidi – a sharp outside edge off a slower ball pouched by the tall Starc at short third man, Sooryavanshi cut loose by edging and pulling him for a four and six, before carting debutant off-spin bowling all-rounder Tripurana Vijay for back-to-back fours through cover region and swivelling him for another maximum.
It also helped RR that DC were sloppy in catching – Dhruv Jurel was given an early reprieve by KL Rahul, while Sameer Rizvi dropped a chance of Sooryavanshi at long-on. When Parag was on six, a short ball looped to Tristan Stubbs at long-on, who appeared to complete the catch running to his left. But replays showed his fingers were not beneath the ball as it grazed the ground, giving Parag a lucky reprieve.
Jurel found his boundary-hitting rhythm by clobbering an erratic Mukesh Kumar for two fours and a six in the last over of power-play, as 17 runs came off it. Madhav Tiwari’s introduction worked wonders for DC as Sooryavanshi couldn’t pick the slower ball and was caught by diving long-on. At 92/2 in eight overs, Parag made his intentions clear to go after the DC bowlers.
He hit Axar over midwicket and then launched him way beyond long-on to pick a brace of sixes. In the next over, he went berserk against Mukesh – a pull over deep mid-wicket was followed by an uppish smash over extra cover for four, before using his strong forearms to pummel the pacer over long-on for consecutive maximums.
After Jurel hit Tiwari for two fours to bring up RR’s 150 in 13 overs, Parah brought up his fifty off 23 balls and got a bear hug from Jurel. But after that, DC clawed back in the 15th over – Starc first deceived Parag with a slower ball and the batter only managed a toe‑end to diving long-on.
Starc struck again when Donovan Ferreira mistimed a heave to long-on and fell for a golden duck, before debutant Ravi Singh was trapped plumb lbw with a slower delivery, as RR burnt a review.
RR’s horrible wobble continued – Tiwari had Shubham Dubey mistiming a heave to deep backward square leg, while Starc forced Impact Player Dasun Shanaka to slice to long-off, and Jurel, after reaching his fourth fifty of the season, was trapped lbw by a slower ball from Ngidi, as DC applied the choke on RR.
Brief scores:
Rajasthan Royals 193/8 in 20 overs (Dhruv Jurel 53, Riyan Parag 51; Mitchell Starc 4-40, Lungi Ngidi 2-24) against Delhi Capitals
–IANS
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