IPL 2018, RR vs DD: Hits and Misses

It was the sixth game of the IPL and the trend of bowling first continued. This time it was Delhi Daredevils who won the toss and opted to field first.

D’Arcy Short, like the first game, started with a confident boundary. But he was once again run out for 6. Ben Stokes was promoted to No. 3 but that move failed as after a good start the England all-rounder was dismissed by a beautiful delivery from Trent Boult.

Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson steadied the ship as the duo added 62 runs for the third wicket. However, both the batsmen didn’t convert their starts and fell at crucial junctures.

Jos Buttler did hit a couple of lusty blows before he was undone by Mohammed Shami. Rain made an appearance after the former’s dismissal as the Rajasthan Royals innings ended at 153/5 in 17.5 overs.

With rain halting play for almost two and a half hours, the Delhi innings was reduced to 6 overs and the revised target was 71. DD lost Colin Munro off the first delivery to a runout and they never found rhythm. They kept losing wickets and the dot deliveries grew which added to the pressure. DD eventually fell 10 runs short as they lost via Duckworth-Lewis.

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#5 Miss: Ben Stokes

The experiment with Ben Stokes at No. 3 didn't click

Ben Stokes was the costliest cricketer for the second consecutive year in the IPL when he was picked by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 12.5 crores in the auction in January this year. After making a successful comeback in the ODI series against New Zealand, but he was unable to bowl long spells in the Test series due to a back injury.

After scoring just 5 in the first game, Stokes was promoted to No. 3 against DD. He started well as he struck a boundary off his fifth delivery. He then struck a wonderful six off Chris Morris and it seemed that Stokes was in the mood. However, he got out caught behind to an excellent delivery from Trent Boult.

Ben Stokes was dismissed for 16 and it was his second consecutive failure.

#4 Hit: Mohammed Shami

Shami looked in good rhythm

Mohammed Shami has gone through a lot in the past few weeks. His wife filed a police complaint against him for domestic violence and a few days after the mattered was sorted out, he suffered a head injury during a road accident.

However, Shami fought through his off-field issues and joined the Delhi Daredevils camp 5 days before the IPL was underway. In the first game, the Bengal pacer seemed a touch rusty as he gave away 26 runs in his 2 overs.

However, he came back very well in this game. He came onto bowl right after the powerplay and conceded a boundary off his first ball. But he came back really well as he ended up conceding just 3 in his next 5 deliveries.

Then he conceded 9 in his next over before pulling things back nicely by giving just 4 in his third over (15th over of the innings). Then came the big moment in the game.

Bowling the 18th over of the innings, Shami was hit for a six over wide long-off off his first delivery by Jos Butler. But the 30-year-old pacer came back strongly as he cramped Butler for room and created a bit of pressure with two dot balls. And off the fourth ball, Shami shattered the England wicket-keeper’s stumps to give Shami his first wicket of this IPL.

He finished with very good figures of 1/29 as he offered good control and bowled with great rhythm.

#3 Miss: Glenn Maxwell

Opening the batting, Maxwell scored 17

Glenn Maxwell is that type of player who can become a star and a big match-winner on one day and can also let you down at crunch moments. This year, he got back to his first-ever IPL franchise (he played for Delhi in 2012).

After landing in India after the tournament started, Maxwell walked into the playing XI and replaced Dan Christian. However, it was not a great start for Maxwell in this IPL.

Chasing 71 in 6 overs, Maxwell was sent to open the batting along with Colin Munro. But disaster struck as a miscommunication between the two batsmen led to Munro being run out for the very first ball of the innings. Maxwell then struggled in his first few deliveries. He managed to score just 3 runs off his first 7 deliveries as he tried to hit the ball too hard.

He then struck 2 fours and a six before he was dismissed by Ben Laughlin in the 4th over for 17.

#2 Hit: Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson has been RR's best batsman in the two games they've played this season

Sanju Samson was touted as the next big wicket-keeper batsman in India. However, some inconsistent performances meant he could not break into the Indian team as the likes of Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant showed some better consistency.

Playing for Delhi Daredevils last year, he scored 386 runs in 14 games including a superb ton in the early part of the season. This year he came back to his old team, Rajasthan Royals as they spent Rs. 8 crore on the Kerala wicket-keeper. In the first game, Samson was RR’s best batsmen as he top-scored with 49.

In the second game, he walked in at No. 4 with his team 28/2. Samson walked in and looked very fluent. He scored an eye-catching 37 in 22 balls before he threw away a good start. The Kerala batsman struck 2 fours and 2 sixes in his innings and shared a vital 62-run stand with his skipper Ajinkya Rahane.

Samson’s innings of 37 helped RR set a good foundation.

#1 Hit: Ben Laughlin

Laughlin took the wicket of Glenn Maxwell to turn the game in Rajasthan's favour

Ben Laughlin is a common name in the Australian domestic circuit. He played a couple of games for Chennai Super Kings in 2013 but he never got a big opportunity. However, after being picked by Rajasthan Royals and with Jofra Archer recovering from a side strain, Ben Laughlin was given the opportunity.

Defending 71 in 6 overs, Ben Laughlin came onto bowl in the 4th over with the score 29/1 and a couple of dangerous batsmen at the crease (Pant and Maxwell). After conceding 5 runs in the first three balls, Laughlin then picked up a big wicket, that of Maxwell who was starting to look dangerous.

However, the 35-year-old Aussie quick who has played 8 international games, dismissed Maxwell with an excellent slower ball. He conceded just 7 in his first over.

And when he came back to bowl the last over (6th of the innings), he had 25 runs in the bank. He conceded a couple of singles and a double off the first three balls and then dismissed Vijay Shankar before Chris Morris hit Laughlin for a four and a six.

But it was Laughlin’s 2/20 that helped Rajasthan defend 70 and set up a very good win for them.