IPL 2018, RR vs DD: 5 Talking Points

The 6th match of IPL 2018 saw Rajasthan Royals take on Delhi Daredevils at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. It was a contest between two teams who were heading into Wednesday's encounter on the back of losses in their respective opening fixtures, it was rain which played a crucial role in deciding the outcome of this tie.

Royals' innings was brought to a halt at 153/5 off 17.5 when rain forced the players off the field and a lengthy interruption meant that Delhi were set a target of 71 to win off 6 overs.

It was the hosts who held their nerve in the end as Gautam Gambhir's side fell short of the revised target by 10 runs.

Here are the 5 major talking points from today's match.

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#5 Gautam Gambhir stays away from the run chase

One of the major headline grabbers at the IPL 2018 player auctions in Bengaluru was Gautam Gambhir's move back to Delhi Daredevils after seven successful seasons with KKR and it was no surprise to see the 36-year-old being named the skipper of the side on his return.

A man for the big occasions, it was surprising to see Gambhir fail to come out to bat during Delhi's run chase against the Royals' in today's encounter.

While it is understandable that the team's two most hard-hitting batsmen - Glenn Maxwell and Colin Munro - were sent in as openers, it was shocking to see him stay back even when Delhi kept losing wickets in their run-chase.

#4 Rajasthan continue their home dominance

The Royals have now won nine consecutive matches at Jaipur

While the Royals' tasted defeat in their IPL 2018 opening fixture on Monday against Sunrisers Hyderabad, they returned to winning ways at their home venue - the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur - which is becoming something of a fortress for the Ajinkya Rahane-led side.

With today's victory, the hosts have won nine consecutive matches at the venue and are just one win short of equalling the record jointly held by Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings who have both won ten consecutive matches in the IPL at the Wankhede and Chepauk respectively.

Kolkata Knight Riders stand in their way as the two teams will battle it out at Jaipur in Roayls' next home fixture on April 18.

#3 Two run-outs in two matches for D'Arcy Short

D'Arcy Short has had a terrible start to his IPL career

D'Arcy Short was one of the lesser known players at the 2018 IPL player auctions who managed to generate plenty of interest amongst the franchises and it was Rajasthan Royals who fended off Delhi's bid to bring the Australian into their ranks.

However, the 27-year-old's start to life in IPL has been tough to say the least, as he succumbed to his second run-out is as many matches, scoring just 10 runs in the process.

While it was his own call that led to him being short of the crease as Kane Williamson hit the stumps direct from mid-off on Monday, it was his skipper Ajinkya Rahane who was at fault in the match against Delhi, calling his opening partner for a second run which was never really on.

The pressure is surely on the Australian now with the side having placed plenty of expectations on his shoulders.

#2 Failing to convert starts into big scores

Sanju Samson failed to carry on for the second successive game after getting a good start under his belt

After a lacklustre display with the bat against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their opening fixture on Monday, Rajasthan Royals gave a much better account of themselves in today's fixture scoring in excess of 150 when rain put an end to their innings with one ball to go in the 18th over.

But it could have been a much better score for the hosts had their batsmen been successful in converting their starts to big totals. Sanju Samson was the guilty party yet again after his untimely dismissal against SRH on Monday after making 49 being followed by his dismissal for 37 today.

The 23-year-old looked in fine touch and could have carried forward to play a big knock but tried a bit too much and was bowled by Shahbaz Nadeem.

Skipper Ajinkya Rahane also failed to keep going after getting a good start under his belt, scoring 45 off 40 balls.

#1 The cruel D/L method

A disciplined bowling effort by the Rajasthan bowlers saw them edge out Delhi on the D/L method

Despite the hues and cries that the D/L method is subjected to whenever it is called upon to recalculate the target in a rain-affected match such as today's contest between Rajasthan and Delhi, the ICC has persisted with the method much to the dismay of a large section of cricket enthusiasts.

The Royals were batting at 153/5 when the rain came pouring down at Jaipur forcing the players off the field and it looked for a long time that it could very well be the end of the contest before the clouds finally gave way in time for a curtailed match that had the visitors needing 71 runs to win from 6 overs.

Delhi tried their best but fell short by 10 runs and skipper Gautam Gambhir clearly felt hard done by the D/L method as he felt that his side had a much better chance at winning the game had they batted the full 20 overs on what was a very good surface for batting.

It was the 17th instance of an IPL match being decided by the D/L method and only the fourth time when the team batting first has come out on top at the end of the contest.