IPL 2021: Ajay Jadeja feels Rishabh Pant's 'defensive' move at fault for DC's loss

Ajay Jadeja feels that Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant's 'defensive' move to bowl Marcus Stoinis in the 13th over enabled the Rajasthan Royals to win the IPL 2021 clash on Thursday.

Batting first, DC scored 147-8 in their 20 overs. In response, RR lost five wickets for just 42 runs. But David Miller (62 off 43) and Chris Morris (36* off 18) helped Rajasthan revive the chase and clinch the game by three wickets with two balls remaining.

The Rajasthan Royals changed gears in the 13th over, with Marcus Stoinis conceding 15 runs. Tom Curran then went for 12 in the next. Even after Miller's dismissal in the 15th over, a well-set Morris managed to take the game away from the Delhi Capitals.

Speaking to Cricbuzz after the match, Ajay Jadeja stated it wasn't the right move on Rishabh Pant's part to hand the ball to Stoinis in the 13th over. The former India batsman suggested the DC skipper should have looked to wrap up the game by bowling his best bowlers at that stage.

"That over [13th, by Marcus Stoinis] kickstarted the chase for Rajasthan Royals. Before it, the scoreboard read 55-5. [Kagiso] Rabada, Avesh Khan, Chris Woakes and R Ashwin, all main bowlers had bowled their 3 overs. When they were bowling, the game was different. I believe you should have bowled your main bowlers some more. The game began to tilt in that over. Unlike CSK, Rajasthan Royals can score quick runs in the end. It's a game, someone will falter. The mistake was that he [Rishabh Pant] switched to defensive style from attacking and what was done and dusted, he let it revive again," said Ajay Jadeja.

Sound 🔛 😉#HallaBol | #RoyalsFamily | #RRvDC | @Tipo_Morris pic.twitter.com/aaGt1XSAeG

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 15, 2021

Chris Morris hit his compatriot Kagiso Rabada for 15 runs in the penultimate over and followed it up with two sixes against Tom Curran in the last over to help RR seal the deal. The South African all-rounder's cameo handed the Rajasthan Royals their first win in IPL 2021.

Preserving Ravichandran Ashwin's over a big error by Rishabh Pant: Ajay Jadeja

Ravichandran Ashwin

Ajay Jadeja also criticized Rishabh Pant's decision to hold back Ravichandran Ashwin's final over.

Although the experienced off-spinned remained wicketless in his three overs, he was DC's most economical bowler (4.7).

Jadeja explained that Rishabh Pant should have bowled his best bowlers in the first 16 overs to take the game completely away from the RR.

"It's not weird (preserving one over of Ashwin) but it's a big error. You allowed them to come back into the game. There wasn't much spin but the batsmen weren't looking to dominate either. I believe if you bowl your main bowlers in the first 16 overs then you have the best chance. It was a small total and, you know, batsmen don't find it a lot more difficult to chase in the final few overs here in Mumbai. You want to use Tom Curran and Marcus Stoinis for a total of four overs. If you had bowled them in the death, they could have got some 70 runs to defend. You allowed them to come back into the game by bowling Stoinis and Tom Curran in the middle overs," concluded Ajay Jadeja.

Rishabh Pant's Delhi Daredevils will be looking to return to winning ways when they take on Punjab Kings on Sunday.

Good game, @rajasthanroyals. Here's to more on-off thrillers everytime we meet 💙See you on May 11 🤝🏼#YehHaiNayiDilli #RRvDC #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/cyT5chpHhQ

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) April 15, 2021