Delhi Capitals win thriller in super over, beat Rajasthan Royals chasing down a target of 12 runs

With nine required in the last over for Rajasthan Royals to win, the Delhi Capitals' Starc conceded just eight to take the match into the first ‘Super Over’ of the season

New Delhi: Delhi Capitals pulled off a thrilling win via Super Over against Rajasthan Royals to record its fifth win in six games in the IPL at Feroz Shah Kotla Ground here on Wednesday.
Needing 12 runs in the Super Over, KL Rahul hit pacer Sandeep Sharma for a brace, then slashed to the point fence for a four before taking a single. And then Tristan Stubbs pulled over the fence to finish off the game in style with two balls to spare.

For Delhi, Starc bowled the Super Over in which he conceded 11 runs, including a four of a no-ball and two run-outs.

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Earlier, with nine required in the last over for Rajasthan to win, the great Starc conceded just eight to take the issue into the first ‘Super Over’ of the season, with Dhruv Jurel (26,17b, 2×6) run-out of the last ball of the over, trying to steal the match-winning run.

Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav got a huge breakthrough when he forced the dangerous Yashaswi Jaiswal (51, 37, 3×4, 4×6), who scored his third half-century of this season, to hit one straight to long-on to make it 112 for two in 13.2 overs.

But, in the next over, Delhi had the misfortune of watching Tristan Stubbs messing up a skier at long-on off captain and left-arm spinner Axar Patel with the batter Nitesh Rana on 24 and worse, even conceded a six. And, as if rubbing salt to the wound, he hit two more fours in the same over.

Then, Rana changed gears and launched into a huge six over mid-wicket off Kuldeep Yadav and then reverse-swept for a four in the next over to push Delhi on the defensive.

Starc trapped the well-set Nitish Rana (51, 28b, 6×4, 2×6) lbw in the 18th over (161/3) to bring Delhi back into the game, conceding eight runs.

Then, to the delight of the Rajasthan camp, Jurel clubbed one from Mohit over long-off for a six in the 19th over in which 14 runs were scored.

All this after Rajasthan captain Sanju Samson had to retire hurt after a breezy 31 (19b, 2×4, 3×6) in the sixth over with some discomfort around rib cage and the gifted Riyan Parag (8) disappointed again.

Earlier, Abishek Porel’s composed 49 was complemented by skipper Axar Patel’s explosive cameo as Delhi Capitals posted a mammoth 188/5 against Rajasthan Royals in their IPL clash on Wednesday.

If Porel and KL Rahul (38) laid a solid foundation with a 63-run stand, Axar’s blistering 13-ball 34, along with Tristan Stubbs’ (34 not out off 18 balls) late surge, provided the final flourish in an innings where momentum swung like a pendulum between the two sides.

The surface at the Feroz Shah Kotla wasn’t the easiest to bat on, offering grip and turn for the spinners.

Sandeep Sharma (0/33) bowled beautifully through his spell, though he lost his rhythm in the final over, leaking four wides and a no-ball.
The pitch wasn’t the easiest to bat on as it provided some grip and turn and Sandeep bowled beautifully, taking pace off his deliveries, barring the last over where he leaked 19 runs.

Delhi Capitals got off to a fiery start, with Jake Fraser-McGurk (9) cracking back-to-back boundaries off Jofra Archer (2/32) to set the tone.
Young Porel lit up the Feroz Shah Kotla early on, taking the second over by storm. He tore into Tushar Deshpande, smashing 23 runs, including four elegant boundaries.

But the highlight was a sublime flick over deep backwards square for a maximum that had the crowd roaring.
However, DC’s momentum faltered as Fraser-McGurk’s lean patch persisted. The Australian lofted a simple catch to Yashasvi Jaiswal at mid-off in the fourth over, gifting Rajasthan Royals a breakthrough.

Run outs came back to haunt Delhi again as a mix-up between Porel and the in-form Karun Nair (0) resulted in the latter’s dismissal, abruptly halting the Capitals’ early charge.
The Royals’ bowlers tightened the noose during the middle overs, drying up the boundaries and building persistent pressure.

Yet, Porel found a steady ally in seasoned Rahul. The veteran batter brought a sense of calm amid a storm, easing the pressure with two towering sixes—one launched down the ground off Deshpande in the 7th, and another elegantly lifted over long-off against Mahesh Theekshana in the 11th.

Just when the hosts looked like having rebuild their innings, Archer was brought back skipper Sanju Samson. And the English pacer struck gold, dismissing Rahul with a back-of-length delivery that found Shimron Hetmyer at deep midwicket. The West Indian held on to a low catch, inches above the ground, swinging the momentum back in Rajasthan’s favour.

But DC skipper Axar, who hasn’t had the best of tournaments, exploded, smashing four boundaries and two maximums before Stubbs’ clean strikes helped Delhi finish strong.