IPL 2024: Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Capitals, 9th Match - Who Said What?

Riyan Parag proved to be the differential as Rajasthan Royals defeated Delhi Capitals by 13 runs at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. The youngster, who was trolled for the past couple of seasons, rose up to the occasion and played some brilliant cricket to help Rajasthan win their second match of IPL 2024. 

Notably, batting first, the hosts were in trouble as they were 36/3 at one stage. Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler couldn’t do any form of damage while skipper Sanju Samson too looked pale. However, soon after their dismissals, Parag took care of the business as he smashed 84* runs in 45 deliveries as Rajasthan posted 185 runs on the board. Notably, Ravichandran Ashwin played a good cameo of 29 runs off 19 deliveries, which gave Rajasthan a lot of momentum.

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When it came to the chase, Mitchell Marsh and David Warner gave a good start but soon after he the prior got out, things got a bit difficult. Strike rate became a massive issue and both Warner and Rishabh Pant struggled to hit boundaries. Pressure was mounting and that’s when both cricketers lost their wickets. After that, Tristan Stubbs played a brilliant knock of 44* runs off 23 deliveries but RR’s Avesh Khan and Sandeep Sharma were brilliant to take the team home.

1. A star is born

Riyan Parag was incredible, to say the least. He took some time to settle down but once he did, the youngster wreaked havoc in Jaipur. He smashed boundaries for fun, which included 25 runs against Anrich Nortje in the final over of the first innings. That helped Rajasthan post a healthy total of 185 runs, which looked impossible at one stage.

2. Strike rate an issue for Delhi

Delhi didn’t look comfortable in the middle phase of the match, which is slightly concerning. Rishabh Pant and David Warner struggled to hit boundaries as this is one area that the team needs to address ahead of their next match. Strike rate has always been an issue for Rishabh in T20 cricket and thus, he needs to work on that.

3. RR bowlers stole the show

Rajasthan bowlers were phenomenal against Delhi. Despite conceding 36 runs in his four overs, Sandeep Sharma was incredible and was other pacers. Nandre Burger gave a brilliant start to the second innings as Yuzvendra Chahal dominated the middle overs while Sandeep and Avesh Khan finished well to get the job done.

Losing skipper Rishabh Pant said:

Definitely disappointed. Best thing we can do from this is learn from it. The bowlers did really well till 15-16 overs, batters sometimes go on at the death and score quickly, that happened in this game. Marsh and Warner gave a good start, but we lost a few wickets in the middle overs and in the end we had too many runs to cover up. There are other options, we wanted Nortje to bowl at the death and sometimes you can go for runs, hopefully we can do better in the next match.

Winning skipper Sanju Samson said:

The way we started, the first ten overs, we were like Rovman, be ready you might have to bat! The IPL is changing and we all have to be flexible. Earlier it was about 11 players, now it is about all 15 players. Me and Sanga had a lot of chat between 15th and 17th over before deciding the Impact Player. It's all about gauging in which zone they are. You have to look at that and take your decision. I saw Sandy was calm and Avesh was also looking good, so i went with that. Riyan Parag has been a big name in the last few years. Wherever I go, people ask me about him. There is something very special he can give to Indian cricke

POTM Riyan Parag said:

Emotions are settled, mum's here as well. She's seen the struggles, this feels special. I know what my ability is and I never let that change - irrespective of whether I perform or not. A lot to do with the domestic season, where I scored a lot of runs. Someone in the top four has to take it deep. First match, Sanju bhaiya did it, today I did it. I had to work very hard. I was on bed in the last three days. I could manage it today.

Also check: IPL 2024 Points table