IPL 2021, DC vs RR: Who won today’s match?

The Delhi Capitals (DC) came up with a commanding performance with the ball to defeat the Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 33 runs in Match 36 of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Having posted only 154 for 6 after being sent into bat, DC never allowed RR a sniff in the chase, clinching the encounter rather comprehensively to move to the top of the IPL 2021 points table. Anrich Nortje (2/18) again made a massive impression while all the other four bowlers used chipped in with a wicket each to restrict RR to 121 for 6. For Rajasthan, skipper Sanju Samson played a lone hand with an unbeaten 70 off 53 balls.

DC got off to a brilliant start in their defence of 154. Avesh Khan sent back Liam Livingstone (1) in the first over. The England dasher charged the pacer but was done in by the slower one and only managed to tickle one behind the stumps. Rishabh Pant completed a smart low catch.

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Then, with his first ball, Anrich Nortje dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal (5). The left-hander drove at a full-length delivery outside off and got the edge. DC needed to review the not-out decision but were successful in overturning it.

RR skipper Samson managed to reverse a caught-behind decision off Nortje, only to see David Miller (7) charge down the wicket and get stumped off Ravichandran Ashwin. At 17 for 3, a target of 155 seemed a long way away.

Mahipal Lomror (19) could not repeat his heroics from the last match as he guided a short ball from Kagiso Rabada to deep fine leg. Left-arm spinner Axar Patel reduced RR to 55 for 5, cleaning up Riyan Parag (2) with a quicker one as the batter went for a pull.

Samson, watching the carnage from the other end, got three belligerent boundaries off Rabada in the 15th over, but RR still needed 70 off 30 balls. Samson went on to complete a hard-fought fifty but kept losing partners at the other end.

There was no final flourish from Rahul Tewatia (9) as he fell to Nortje’s short ball. The result was pretty much a foregone conclusion by then.

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RR restrict DC to 154/6 on challenging surface

Mustafizur Rahman celebrates a wicket. Pic: IPLT20.COM

RR came up with a clinical bowling effort to restrict DC to 154 for 6 on a surface where the ball wasn’t quite coming on to the bat. Bowling first after winning the toss, Mustafizur Rahman (2/22) and Chetan Sakariya (2/33) exploited the conditions brilliantly while leg-spinner Rahul Tewatia (1/17) chipped in with the big scalp of Shreyas Iyer (43).

RR’s bowlers dominated the proceedings right from the start. While last-match hero Kartik Tyagi (1/40) proved expensive, he got the big scalp of in-form DC opener Shikhar Dhawan (8). The left-hander chopped a length ball that came slowly off the surface on to the stumps. Prithvi Shaw (10) followed him back to the dugout, slicing a length ball from Sakariya to mid-off. Despite a couple of fours, DC only scored 36 in the powerplay.

The struggles for DC batters continued on the sluggish surface as captain Rishabh Pant (24) dragged a short ball from Mustafizur back onto the stumps. Iyer and Shimron Hetmyer (28 off 16) were the only two batters who looked confident on the day. And it was thanks to their efforts that DC managed to cross 150.

Iyer smashed two wonderful sixes, one straight back over Tewatia’s head and the second off Tabraiz Shamsi over extra cover. Just when DC were hoping for Iyer to carry on, he was deceived by Tewatia. The leggie drew the former Delhi captain forward and got the ball to spin away. Iyer failed to drag his feet back into the crease on time and was stumped.

Hetmyer took on Sakariya and successfully found two fours in the 15th over. Three more followed in the next bowled by Tyagi - two of them slashed through point and the third dabbed over short third man.

It needed a brilliant yorker-length delivery from Mustafizur to end Hetmyer’s dangerous innings as the left-hander edged the ball to short third. A six from Axar Patel took DC closer to 150, which proved a match-winning score in the end.

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IPL 2021, DC vs RR: Who was the Man of the Match?

Mustafizur was outstanding for RR with figures of 2 for 22. He got two of DC’s most dangerous batters - Pant and Hetmyer. Sakariya, the other left-arm seamer, also claimed two, including the big one of Shaw. In RR’s chase, Samson made a valiant half-century.

For DC, Shreyas Iyer batted with command, scoring 43 off 42 before being stumped. With the ball, Nortje stood out once again with figures of 2 for 18. All the other bowlers also chipped in with wickets. Ashwin was economical with 1 for 20.

Iyer was named the Man of the Match for his valuable innings on a tough batting track.