NEW DELHI: In a match that had its ebbs and flows, Delhi Capitals (DC) held their nerve to emerge victorious over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in a thrilling Super Over and climb atop the points table at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Wednesday.
On a slow pitch, late cameos by captain Axar Patel and Tristan Stubbs rescued DC from a precarious position and enabled them to post a formidable 188/5. In reply, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Nitish Rana threatened to take RR to victory by smashing 51 runs each. But Mitchell Starc's defending nine runs in the final over meant the game went into a Super Over, happening for the first time in the IPL after 2022.
DC went ahead with Starc in the Super Over against Shimron Hetmyer and Riyan Parag. The duo hit a boundary each off Starc, including off a no-ball, before being run out on successive balls and setting a target of 12 runs to win for DC.
After taking two runs on the first ball, KL Rahul sliced Sandeep Sharma for four, before taking a single. Tristan Stubbs then pulled Sandeep over deep mid-wicket for six to seal a thrilling win for DC, who have now won a Super Over for the fourth time.
RR had a bright start to the chase as Sanju Samson and Jaiswal clubbed a six each off Mukesh Kumar. Jaiswal then brought out the slice, swivel pull, and across-the-line swipe to take two fours and a six off Mitchell Starc. Samson continued to be at his aggressive best by dispatching Mukesh over long-on for six while edging Mohit Sharma for four.
After being dropped on 20 by Ashutosh Sharma, Samson nailed two pulled shots off Vipraj Nigam for six and four, respectively. But after he missed playing a cut-off Nigam, Samson picked up a rib injury and walked off the field for 31. After RR ended the power-play at 63/0, Axar Patel struck by castling Riyan Parag with a slower delivery for eight.
Jaiswal continued to be aggressive by lofting Kuldeep for six, before slog-sweeping Axar for four and hammering Stubbs over the long-on fence for another maximum, as he brought up his third IPL fifty in 34 balls. But in the face of a rising run rate due to three tight overs, Jaiswal tried to loft a flighted ball from Axar but holed out to long-on for 51.
Rana, who had hit two boundaries by then, got a six off Axar as the ball burst through Stubbs’ hands while getting two fours off a lucky edge and hammering down the ground. He then pulled and reverse-swept Kuldeep for six and four respectively, before getting his fifty in 26 balls, scooping past Kuldeep, who jarred his left shoulder and went off the field.
But Starc nailed a toe-crushing incoming yorker to trap Rana lbw for 51, giving DC some hope to make a late fightback. Dhurv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer hit a couple of boundaries to ensure RR got home, but Starc bowling five pinpoint yorkers in the final over before Jurel was run out ensured the match went into a Super Over, which DC won in front of their jubilant home crowd.
Brief scores:
Delhi Capitals 188/5 in 20 overs (Abishek Porel 49, KL Rahul 38; Jofra Archer 2-32, Wanindu Hasaranga 1-38) tied with Rajasthan Royals 188/4 in 20 overs (Nitish Rana 51, Yashasvi Jaiswal 51; Axar Patel 1-23, Kuldeep Yadav 1-33)