DUBAI (UAE): Delhi moved to the top of the points table after beating Rajasthan by 13 runs in Indian Premier League here on Wednesday.
Needing 162 runs to win, Ben Stokes hit a four on the first ball but could have been run-out had Ajinkya Rahane pulled off a direct-hit.
Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 161/7 (Shikhar Dhawan 57, Shreyas Iyer 53; Jofra Archer 3/19) beat Rajasthan Royals 148/8 (Ben Stokes 41, Robin Uthappa 32; Anrich Nortje 2/33) by 13 runs
Rajasthan managed to score 21 off the first two overs as Stokes and Buttler hit three and one four each.
The third over saw Buttler taking on Anrich Nortje before getting out in the same over. The RR wicketkeeper-batsman creamed a six off the first ball and then scooped two for four. But Nortje had the last laugh as ended the Buttler cameo, breaking through his defence to give DC their first breakthrough.
DC introduced spin in the fourth over and the move paid dividends as R Ashwin held on to a caught and bowled chance to dismiss Steve Smith for 1. RR though, managed to score fifty in the powerplay, with Stokes scoring 25 of those runs.
Meanwhile, Iyer had to leave the field after he dived rather awkwardly while saving a boundary.
Sanju Samson creamed two maximums before Stokes hit two fours over the course of the next three overs to push RR past 80 at the end of the ninth over.
The Samson-Stokes pair was in a touching distance to complete the fifty-run stand, but DC managed to strike for the third time in the night as Tushar Deshpande, making his IPL debut, broke the partnership getting Stokes out in the deep for 41 in the 11th over.
Axar, then gave DC their fourth wicket after he ended Sanju Samson’s 18-ball 25-run innings.
Robin Uthappa hit a four and a six off Nortje in the 13th over as RR brought up their hundred. But, RR lost their fifth wicket in the next over as a mix-up between Uthappa and Riyan Parag saw the latter walk back to the dug-out.
RR were 115/5 after the end of the 14th over and needed 47 from the last six to seal a win.
