New Delhi: If you need a reminder why Mitchell Starc still fetches the big money each time he puts his name in the IPL players auction, just watch the last over he bowled to Rajasthan Royals at the death on Wednesday night. In a match where RR seemed to have control on the chase, the Australian spearhead choked the innings by defending nine runs off the last over to force the first Super Over in the tournament since 2021.
He also bowled the all-important Super Over with Starc conceding just 11 runs, RR’s innings ending with one ball to spare. Delhi Capitals trusted KL Rahul and Tristan Stubbs to get the job done against Sandeep Sharma and they did, in a matter of four balls. DC, who narrowly escaped their second loss on home turf, will be buoyed by a win where they held their nerves.
RR hoped that the left-right combination of Shimron Hetmyer and Riyan Parag would be enough to tackle Starc. Meanwhile, RR’s decision to trust Sandeep over Jofra Archer, who also had a great match, will also be reviewed. Sandeep’s lengths in the powerplay were predictable.
Earlier, in a sub-par 189-run chase, Yashasvi Jaiswal (51) and Sanju Samson (31) came out with the intent to put up a contrasting powerplay. Samson was going strong but had to hobble off at 31 after getting a side strain in the sixth over. Jaiswal steered the innings with a well-measured 34-ball fifty before Nitish Rana (51) took over. His innings wasn’t chanceless but he navigated the chase on a familiar pitch.
Opting to bat first, DC seemed poised for a commanding total at 33/0 in just two overs, but what followed was a remarkable powerplay comeback by RR. From cruising, DC were pegged back to 46/2 by the end of the powerplay — a far cry from the 60-70 run benchmarks teams have been aiming for in this season’s powerplays.
Regardless of the eventual result, DC’s instability at the top of the order – a result of the imbalance due to Faf du Plessis’s absence and Jake Fraser McGurk’s lean patch –will need to be addressed. It showed up again when their innings veered from a blistering start to an underwhelming end.
After being put into bat, DC came out swinging. Abhishek Porel (49) took the attack to Tushar Pandey in the second over, hammering 23 runs and putting RR under immediate pressure.
Karun Nair, who had sparkled in his comeback game against Mumbai Indians, endured a forgettable outing as he was run out for nought. A steady 63-run stand between KL Rahul (38) and Abishek Porel (33) offered some stability, but Rahul’s dismissal for 38 in the 13th over once again left DC wobbling.
Porel, who had looked fluent, successfully evaded a bodyline bouncer from Archer that brushed the bottom edge only to succumb to Hasaranga in the next.
Amid the collapse, captain Axar provided a blistering 14-ball 34 cameo, taking on Hasaranga and Theekshana in yet another reminder of his growth with the bat over the past year.
Tristan Stubbs (34*) chipped in with a sharp cameo with Ashutosh Sharma (15*) on the other end.
