IPL 2018: Rahane, bowlers shine as RR beat DD

Rajasthan Royals (RR) beat Delhi Daredevils (DD) by 10 runs in a rain-marred clash at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur in the ongoing edition of the IPL on Wednesday.

Delhi were set a revised target of 71 in 6 overs after Rajasthan managed to score 153/5 in 17.5 overs before rain halted their innings. Hard-hitters Glenn Maxwell and Colin Munro were handed the task of chasing down the target by the Delhi think-tank.

Batting first, Rajasthan once again got off to a bad start as opener D’Arcy Short was run-out for the second game in a row, without troubling the scorers much. All-rounder Vijay Shankar hit the stumps directly as Short was way out of his ground.

Ben Stokes and skipper Ajinkya Rahane tried to steady the ship and the Englishman hit a huge six as well to announce his intentions early on. However, his innings was cut short by Trent Boult, who scalped his prize wicket for 16.

Sanju Samson arrived at the crease and he brought his good form into this clash as well and hit a four and a six on the first two Boult deliveries that he faced.

Rahane too joined the party and the duo stitched together a brisk fifty-run stand to steady the Rajasthan ship.

Samson’s innings was ended by spinner Shahbaz Nadeem, who castled him for 34. Jos Buttler hit few boundaries but his cameo was ended by Nadeem as the Englishman became his second scalp of the day.

And this is when the rain arrived at the venue and started playing hide and seek with the fans and players alike. The downpour didn’t relent and the innings had to be halted.

However, Delhi too got off to the worst start possible as Munro was run-out by wicket-keeper Jos Buttler on the first ball of the innings itself. Maxwell and Rishabh Pant too couldn’t last long.  In the last over, Delhi needed 25 runs to win the contest. Chris Morris hit a four and six off the last two deliveries respectively but it came a bit too late as Rajasthan recorded their first win of the season with the help of Duckworth and Lewis (D/L) System.

Sanju Samson was adjudged as the Man of the Match.

This post was published on April 12, 2018 5:35 pm