Rajasthan Royals suffered a defeat against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday. Rajasthan Royals were batting first and started brilliantly. They were 160/2 at the end of 14 overs and looked all set for a big total. Starc came in and opened up the game with three wickets in a single over. Rajasthan Royals ended up with 193 at the end of the first innings. Chasing the target, Delhi Capitals openers put up a 100 run partnership and the middle order did well as they chased down the target comfortably.
RR 193/8 (Parag - 53, Starc 4/40) lost to DC 197/5 (Rahul 56, Archer 2/35)
Mitchell Starc (DC) - 4/40
A match defining spell that broke RR’s momentum in the middle and death overs.
DC vs RR Match Highlights
RR started strong with 75 runs in the powerplay
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashed a fiery 46 off 21 balls
Riyan Parag added a rapid 51 off 26 balls
RR were dominant at 161/3 after 14 overs
Collapse: RR lost 6 wickets for just 33 runs in last 6 overs
Starc picked up 4 key wickets including Parag and Shanaka
DC calmly chased target in 19.2 overs
Riyan Parag | RR captain:
(where did you lose it?) "Pretty much everything, actually. We were in a pretty good space after 14 overs. After I got out, we didn't capitalise on that. It was... It had to be 220-230, something like that. And as far as the bowling is concerned, I think we were just weren't there. We weren't up to the mark. Ferreira wasn't a gamble. I know on TV it looks like a gamble, but then you've got two left-handers. I'd rather bowl Donovan, take a chance, than get Shanaka to bowl another over. Didn't really work out. (on the fielding) Very poor. I feel if you want to win a trophy, if you want to be contending every single year, you've got to be better than what we've done today. Extremely disappointed. I feel we are a way better team than what we've played or shown in the last 4-5 games. But today was just, I feel... After coming from a break, I feel what we've shown today, energy-wise, skill-wise, execution-wise, is definitely not up to the mark. And if we keep on playing like this, we shouldn't be in contention for the top 4. (still in contention if you win your last two games) Yeah, I think that's depending on a lot of other teams as well. That is not how I like to lead. That is not how I like to speak to my team as well. That, oh, we need these guys to keep on losing so we can win two games. We've had the opportunity, we've not taken it. So if we do not qualify, it's our fault. No one else's. And yeah, next two games, we'll see what we can do better and hopefully get two wins.”
KL Rahul
Yeah, but this one feels a little more special because I’ve scored 500 runs in previous seasons too, but this year I set out to achieve something else, which was to improve my strike rate and keep up with the modern demands of T20 cricket. So yeah, I’m quite pleased that I could do that. But if we had a few more wins, it would’ve felt even more special. We still have an outside chance, so we’re hoping to win the next game and maybe some other teams can help us out as well.. Yeah, it’s been a journey. I still don’t think I’ve completely cracked it. Sport is all about trial and error, experimenting, and being open to uncomfortable situations. I’ve always tried to adapt to the demands of the game and do what the team asks of me. This season, the coach and captain had a very clear message before the tournament — they wanted me to play at a certain strike rate, dominate the powerplay, and dominate the bowling. So I tried to mould my game around that and do it for the team.I had to take on the role to bat deep and Porel took on the bowlers so I could take some time. The opportunities that he has got, he has shown he has got it. He batted beautifully in the last season as well, but the team wanted him to up the SR. He's been working hard on his game and is improving
Axar Patel | DC captain:
It's obviously a good feeling to win at home. Winning the final home game feels special. In the matches we lost, we lost wickets in cluster. We ensured that that didn't happen today. We bowled really well in the middle overs to make a comeback. The last 6 overs, it was class bowling. The bowling unit refused to give up.
Mitchell Starc | Player of the Match:
An interesting one. We didn't bowl too bad in the powerplay. We fought back really well towards the end. Very good start for us. To get those two points is always nice. That's the key, adjusting quickly. Lungi bowled fantastically. We adjusted really well after the powerplay. As bowlers, you have to put the ego behind. (On the bowling group) There's plenty of talent there. We've seen some young talent come through. It's a positive to see the youngsters come here and perform.
DC vs RR Full Match Analysis
Rajasthan Royals were in full control for most of the match, building a strong platform through aggressive batting in the powerplay and middle overs. However, their inability to accelerate in the final phase proved costly.
Delhi Capitals, on the other hand, showed excellent game awareness. Even though RR set a challenging target of 193, DC’s batting unit remained calm, paced the chase well, and finished efficiently under pressure.
Mitchell Starc was the difference maker, dismantling RR’s middle order at crucial stages and ensuring the target never crossed 200.
