IPL 2021: Match 36, DC vs RR – Who Said What

The cat and mouse fight between Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings for the numero uno spot in the points tally continued as the Capitals secured a 33-run win over Rajasthan Royals to go atop the table, looking increasingly set for a top-two finish, let alone a playoff qualification.

If batting first Capitals were a video playing at 0.75x, chasing Royals were 0.5. Winning the toss, Royals bowlers did well to restrict their opponents to an unimposing total of 154/6, chipping wickets regularly while also keeping the boundary rate under check.

Known this season to provide ballistic starts, openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw were both dismissed cheaply, while even as all amongst Rishabh Pant (run-a-ball 24), Shimron Hetmyer (28 off 16) and Marcus Stoinis’ replacement Lalit Yadav (14 off 15) got starts, they failed to convert it into anything threatening.

The closest any Delhi batter to converting a start was Shreyas Iyer, however, he was stumped for 43 off 32, as Mustafizur Rahman and Rahul Tewatia kept all the batters tied.

While the Royals would have looked the happier side at the halfway mark, they were in for a rude awakening, as Avesh Khan and Anrich Nortje left them panting, removing openers Liam Livingstone and Yashasvi Jaiswal inside the first couple of overs for single-digit scores. The ominous-looking 6/2 was soon converted to 17/3 inside the powerplay when R Ashwin struck to remove David Miller.

Fresh from a destructive cameo in the previous game, Mahipal Lomror failed to emulate those heroics, with Kagiso Rabada sending him back for a 24-ball 19. All the while, the only batter who stood his ground was skipper Sanju Samson, but his quest for momentum lasted throughout. He did accelerate to finish unbeaten on 70 off 53, but by then the required run rate had gone well beyond any team’s reach on that surface as Royals could only reach 121/6.

Winning skipper Rishabh Pant:

[On his bowling attack] If not the best, it is one of the best. But we like to take it as one match at a time. There’s a fair bit of planning, as a team we plan according to the batters, and execute according to those plans. Ashwin likes to set his own fields. I am happy with my form. As long as the team is winning, I am happy. [On playing with Shreyas] We have batted together for a long time. He bats 3 and I bat 5 normally. So that helps

Losing skipper Sanju Samson:

A target of 155 with the quality of batsmen we have, I thought it was chaseable. We had the batting to go after it. I think we will come back stronger in the next game. The emotions are on the higher side, we’ll think about it tomorrow morning. The pitch was not that slow. It was holding up, but if we had a few wickets in hand we could have got the over the line.

Player of the Match Shreyas Iyer:

Just decided to see how the wicket was playing and then take it from there and look to take on the spinners later. Prithvi and Shikhar are attacking players. Rishabh and I have been playing together for the last five years. It is good fun because he takes on bowlers as soon as he comes on. [On returning from injury] The last five months have been hectic, but now I am feeling amazing. I have a close-knit family and friends. They motivated me, and once rehab started, my power came back quicker than I thought. I love to taken on the bowlers.