Rajasthan Royals 150 for 7 (Miller 62, Morris 36*, Avesh 3-32) beat Delhi Capitals 147 for 8 (Pant 51, Unadkat 3-15) by three wickets
(ESPN) Back at the scene of their heartbreak in a massive chase against the Punjab Kings, the Rajasthan Royals managed to make 148 look more difficult than 222 before sealing the chase in a chaotic finish yesterday.
For a majority of the chase, it looked like the Delhi Capitals would add to the successful low defences of the two nights preceding this, but David Miller and Chris Morris dragged the Royals back after they had been 17 for 3 and 104 for 7.
Not one six was hit in the first 35 overs of the match – it was the first time a 20-overs innings had ended without a six at the Wankhede Stadium – but Miller, Morris and Jaydev Unadkat managed seven sixes between them as the Royals scored 60 in their last 4.4 overs.
Unadkat undercuts the Capitals
Bowling thee overs in the Powerplay for the first time since 2011, Jaydev Unadkat went through the Capitals batting with his changes of pace. Prithvi Shaw got a leading edge to point in the second over, Shikhar Dhawan ramped one to be caught behind acrobatically by Sanju Samson in the fourth, and Ajinkya Rahane chipped one back to Unadkat in the sixth. This was Unadkat’s first IPL three-for in three years.
Mustafizur Rahman made it four wickets with slower balls as Marcus Stoinis was caught off a leading edge in the seventh. Capitals 37 for 4 after seven overs.
Pant goes along the ground
The Capitals scored 72 runs in the 9.3 overs that Pant spent at the wicket; 51 of them came off his bat off just 32 balls – that was a pace good enough to score 190 on a 140 pitch. He did so without hitting, or trying to hit, a six. This included a severe attack against his former team-mate Rahul Tewatia, lacing the cover fence with four various cuts in the 11th over.
A quick run sets the Capitals back
Having brought the Capitals back into the game, Pant looked good for a much bigger knock himself when he called Lalit Yadav through for a quick single while the ball had hardly gone past the bowler Riyan Parag. The Capitals, five down in the 13th over, only managed five boundaries in the last seven overs as Capitals went from 88 for 5 to 147 for 8 in their 20 overs.
Capitals go seam-up
Teams usually see how the opposition has bowled and try to replicate what has worked for them, but the Capitals didn’t quite go looking for the cutters and the slower balls that worked so beautifully for the Royals. However, the seam movement that they managed to extract worked just as well for Chris Woakes and Kagisa Rabada, who had the Royals down at 17 for 3 in no time, including the key wicket of Samson.
Dhawan kept attracting catches: Samson at regulation slip, Shivam Dube at wide slip, and Riyan Parag at cover, making it 42 for 5 in the 10th over.
Miller, Tewatia start the comeback
Miller looked in good touch, probably as good as Pant had earlier in the night. Rahul Tewatia provided him company. For some reason, despite two left-hand batters being in the middle, Pant took the stifling R Ashwin off and went to Stoinis, which resulted in a shift in the momentum. Perhaps it was the dew that influenced his decision?
Three fours came in Stoinis’ only over, and two more came in the next, the 14th of the innings, bowled by Tom Curran. Rabada’s pace hurried Tewatia to dismiss him on the pull, but the Royals now had some fluency. Miller converted it into two sixes off Avesh Khan in the next over. He holed out trying to make it a hat-trick, and once again 44 off 25 looked out of sight.
Morris, Unadkat end it
It was fitting that Unadkat got the partnership going, with a pulled six off Woakes. Curran bowled a good 18th over to make it 27 off 12, but the wet ball played havoc with Rabada and Curran in the last two overs. Rabada kept bowling it in the slot, and Morris connected with two of those balls, bringing the equation down to 12 off the last over.
In the last game, Morris had had a single refused in the last over when the Royals failed to get 13. If there were memories haunting them from that game, the second ball of the last over exorcised them. The slower bouncer sat up, and Morris smoked it over square leg. A full-toss two balls later took the Royals over the line.
Only two times in the IPL before this game had a team scored more than 40 after the fall of their seventh wicket to win a match. Morris ended up with 29 in the last two overs; only once has someone scored more to win an IPL game.
