Rajasthan Royals beat 150 for 7 (Miller 62, Morris 36 *, Avesh 3-32) Delhi Capitals 147 for 8 (Pant 51, Unadkat 3-15) by three wickets
(ESPN) Back at the scene of their heartbreak in a massive hunt against the Punjab Kings, the Rajasthan Royals managed to make 148 look harder than 222 before sealing the hunt in a chaotic finish yesterday.
For the majority of the hunt, it looked like the Delhi Capitals would add to successful low defenses the two nights before, but David Miller and Chris Morris dragged the Royals back after they were 17 for 3 and 104 for 7.
No six were struck in the first 35 overs of the match – this was the first time a 20-over inning had ended without six at Wankhede Stadium – but Miller, Morris and Jaydev Unadkat managed seven sixes between them as the Royals scored 60 in their last 4.4 overs.
Unadkat undermines the Capitals
Bowling at the Powerplay for the first time since 2011, Jaydev Unadkat went through the Capitals and batted with his changes of speed. Prithvi Shaw got a dominant edge to point in the second over, Shikhar Dhawan rammed one to be held acrobatically behind by Sanju Samson in the fourth, and Ajinkya Rahane cut one back for Unadkat in the sixth. It was Unadkat’s first IPL three-for-three in three years.
Mustafizur made Rahman four wickets with slower balls as Marcus Stoinis was caught off a leading edge in the seventh. Capitals 37 for 4 after seven overs.
Pant goes all over the ground
The Capitals scored 72 runs in the 9.3 overs that Pant spent at wicket; 51 of them came off his mat off just 32 balls – that was good enough speed to score 190 on field 140. He did it without hitting six, or trying to hit six. This included a serious attack against his former friend Rahul Tewatia, tying the cover fence with four miscellaneous cuts in the 11th over.
A quick run sets the Capitals back
After bringing the Capitals back into the game, Pant was looking good for a much bigger beat himself when Lalit Yadav called through for a quick single while the ball barely passed bowler Riyan Parag. The Capitals only managed five boundaries, five down in the 13th over, in the last seven overs as the Capitals went from 88 for 5 to 147 for 8 in their 20 overs.
Capitals go up
Teams usually see how the opposition have bowled and try to replicate what has worked for them, but the Capitals weren’t going to look for the slower cutters and balls that worked so nicely for the Royals . However, the seam movement they managed to pull off worked equally well for Chris Woakes and Kagisa Rabada, who got the Royals down at 17 for 3 in no time, including Samson’s key wicket.
Dhawan continued to attract catches: Samson at regulation slip, Shivam Dube on wide slip, and Riyan Parag at cover, making it 42 for 5 in the 10th over.
Miller, Tewatia starting back
Miller looked in good touch, probably as good as Pant was earlier in the night. Rahul Tewatia provided him with company. For some reason, even though there were two left-handed batters in the middle, Pant y R Ashwin took a mask off and went to Stoinis, which led to a change in momentum. Perhaps the dew influenced his decision?
Three fours at Stoinis only came over, and two more came in the next, the 14th of the innings, bowled by Tom Curran. Rabada Tewatia’s speed rushed to dismiss him on the pull, but now the Royals had some fluency. Miller converted two sixes off Avesh Khan in the next game. He nailed it to try and make it a hat-trick, and again 44 out of 25 looked out of sight.
Morris, Unadkat ends it
It was appropriate that Unadkat had the partnership to go, with six removed from Woakes. Curran bowled a good 18th over to make it 27 off 12, but played the wintry wet ball with Rabada and Curran in the last two overs. Rabada continued to bowl in the slot, and Morris connected with two of those balls, bringing the equation down to 12 off the last over.
In the last game, Morris had a single setback in the latter over when the Royals failed to get 13. If memories bothered them that game, the latter’s second ball overruled them. The slower bouncer sat, and Morris smoke over his square leg. Later, the Royals’ two full balls took over the line.
Only twice in the IPL before this game did a team score more than 40 after the fall of their seventh wicket to win a game. Morris finished with 29 in the last two overs; only once has someone scored more to win an IPL match.