That’s it from us then. Tomorrow (or today) will see Chennai Super Kings take on Kolkata Knight Riders. Till then, goodbye.
Rishabh Pant is the man of the match for his blitzkrieg 69 off only 29. “It’s been going great but I’m just happy with the win for my team, it was more important to win.
We know if we lose, we’re out, so being positive for every match. Intent is same in every game, but the small things were important which got us the win tonight,” says the Orange Cap holder.
“Definitely disappointed. Buttler was amazing, but we could’ve batted better. 151 off 12 was difficult but we did magnificently with the bat nonetheless. We believe we can win all the games for now. All games are knockouts for us. It’s all in the minds now,” says RR captain Ajinkya Rahane.
Both the Orange Cap (Rishabh Pant) and the Purple Cap (Trent Boult) with Delhi Daredevils now. Delhi also move out of the bottom-placed zone with 6 points now. Mumbai Indians occupy that spot now.
Last-over thriller!
Boult gets the ball for the third over and starts with a wide.
A single and Gowtham (10 off 2) is back on strike.
Two runs off the third, after a mistimed loft falls safe.
A super slow ball from Boult but they scamper for a single, narrowly missing a run out.
The fifth ball is a run out and Tripathi is livid! A sharp ball, collected by the keeper and thrown to the bowler’s end who whips the bails.
DROPPED and FOUR! Shreyas Iyer messes a catch at the boundary and it goes through for four. Can this get any more thrilling? Six needed off the last ball.
Boult bowls one full and wide, almost in the range to hit, and Gowthan does. But it doesn’t get the distance and it falls safe.
Delhi Daredevils beat Rajasthan Royals by 4 runs!
End of Over 11, 136/4: Need 15 in 6 balls
Plunkett is back for his last and gives away 15 to keep the hope of a last-over thriller alive!
A failed LBW appeal against Tripathi right after a four gives RR some cheer and then comes a lucky four from Gowthan through third man, followed by a very crucial Six off the last ball. Keeps things interesting with one over to go!
6. 6. 6. OUT!
What a dramatic opening over for Maxwell! Short clobbers him for three consecutive sixes to bring the required rate down to 13. Has he finally found his feet here?
Alas, that resurgence was short-lived. the fourth ball is sliced and Avesh Khan at short third man holds on for a simple catch. RR’s last, desperate hope is out for 44 off 25. RR 121/4 after 10
Make that 2 in the over Purple Cap Boult!
Stokes sees a short ball and holes it out, where it goes straight to Avesh Khan at deep mid-wicket. But he is rooted to his spot because he believes it is a no ball for height. Looked just about waist high and the umpires go upstairs, and he is Out! Ben Stokes’s poor IPL continues, as he walks back on 1 off 2. RR 100/3 after 9
Boult strikes!
Bowls a slower delivery on the first ball and Samson goes big and high. Very high as Munro settled himself under it and completes a good, low catch with the light in his eye. That’s the Purple Cap for Boult then. RR 93/2
Ben Stokes walks in. Can he play a miracle knock?
End of Over 8, RR 92/1: Need 59 runs in 24 balls
Sanju Samson is the new man in as Iyer throws the ball back to Plunkett. Rajasthan seem to stutter after the wicket, as Short’s struggle intensifies without Buttler at the other end. Till the last ball, which Short calmly dispatches for Six to make it 9 runs from the over.
With a required rate of 14, this is still a small over for RR though.
Buttler is stumped by Mishra!
The IPL veteran is the man who gets the breakthrough for Delhi. A clever googly, and Buttler goes for the shot, missing the ball completely, Pant whips the bails off with the batsman still way out of the crease. He walks back after a blistering 67 off 26. RR 83/1 after 7
End of Over 6, RR 79/0: Need 72 runs in 36 balls
Avesh Khan is back after his expensive first over, but Buttler clearly has his number here. A four to warm, followed by a massive hit into the stands a couple of balls later. 13 runs off the over.
Fifty for Jos Buttler! Off only 18 balls!
The Englishman is making sure Rajasthan are very much in the chase as he hits the first ball of yet another bowler for a Six, Amit Mishra this time.
This is the fastest fifty by a Rajasthan batsman ever, and the third fastest this IPL.
A much better over after that from Mishra though, only 8 off it. DD 66/0 after 5
End of Over 4, RR 57/0: Need 93 runs in 48 balls
Plunkett comes in to bowl the last over of Powerplay and Buttler picks him for a Six on the very first ball. 13 runs off the over, which looks much better than the ones before given the scoring rate. But the 50 is up for RR in the 4-over Powerplay already, they are going for it.
End of Over 3, RR 45/0: Need 106 runs in 54 balls
Avesh Khan comes in and is welcomes by back-to-back Sixes by Buttler - over long-off and then over fine leg. This is clean hitting!
Wait, make that 3, this one smashed over long-on. And a four through backward point for good measure.
23 runs off that over! Buttler is keeping Rajasthan in this game by himself.
Review and saved!
Boult from the other end, is hit for a four by Buttler early on but bowls a tidy over after that. To cap it, Short is given caught behind after a miscued pull. But a confident Short reviews and it is upheld. RR 22/0 after 2
End of Over 1, RR 14/0: Need 137 runs in 66 balls
This is why Buttler was sent up the order! He lofts one over the bowler’s head to get a boundary off the fourth ball, follows it with a swat of a six at deep square leg. 14 off the first over, this is a good start.
Rahane has sent Jos Buttler to open with Darcy Short, given the task at hand. Nadeem with the new ball for Delhi.
Right then, we are back with a further curtailed match. Here are the revised playing conditions: Rajasthan now have to chase 151 in 12 overs, a tough ask at a rate of 12. The Powerplay will be for 4 overs while 2 bowlers can bowl a maximum of 3 overs. There will be no time outs either. Let’s go!
Rain delay: Once again, rain stops play and that should be the end of the Delhi innings. But on the bright side for Delhi fans, Pant gets the Orange Cap after that slam bang display.
Wicket! Maxwell’s poor run this season continues
Archer gets Maxwell with a rocket of a yorker on the first ball off the last over. He was late as it hits him on the toe, but the Aussie goes for the review. It doesn’t matter though, because that is plumb and the signals are all red.
End of Over 17, DD 196/5: 9 runs off it
Delhi on course to make 200 in an 18-over match. The only question, how many of those will Maxwell make?
Wicket! Shanker’s cameo comes to an end
He tried to keep up the assault with 17 runs off 6 balls but in the end, gives Unadkat his third wicket with Tripathi taking another catch in the deep. A slower ball and doesn’t get the right distance, even at a ground as small as Kotla.
Wicket! Unadkat has got both destroyers in one over!
What an over this has turned out to be Rajasthan Royals. He went for the slog, as he does. But this time he loses his balance and it comes off one-handed. Not enough distance and it goes high but Stokes long on takes a safe catch. Pant departs after a ballistic 69 off 29 balls, DD 172-4 after 15.
Wicket! Iyer falls soon after his 50
The partnership is finally broken by Unadkat, as Iyer goes for the big one but only gets the height, not the length. It stays up for a while but fielder Rahul Tripathi settles himself under it and holds on at long-off. DD 166/3
Fifty for Shreyas Iyer! 10th IPL fifty, 4th this season as the captain continues to lead from the front. He takes 34 balls to get there, as he plays the perfect foil to rampaging Pant.
Fifty for Rishabh Pant! Comes off only 23 balls as he outscores Iyer after coming in later. The boundaries coming from all ends, as the DD youngster makes full use of the shorter boundaries at Kotla. DD 160-2 after 14, 15 runs off the Stokes over
End of Over 13, DD 145/2: 20 runs off the over
Pant is being outrageous now, with a swat over fine leg for 6. But perhaps more outrageous of Kulkarni bowling 3 wides in a row. Pant punishes him for it, with boundaries off the last two balls.
End of Over 12, DD 125/2: 16 runs off the over
Gowtham is back after giving away 11 in his first. And how is he welcomed? By a HUGE six from Iyer. But Pant isn’t too far behind as two back-to-back boundaries bring up the 50-run partnership between the two, in just 28 balls.
End of Over 11, DD 109/2: 10 runs off the Unadkat over
100 up for Delhi as the Iyer-Pant partnership powers on. This is a good batting wicket and Delhi’s two investment players are making it count here.
End of Over 10, DD 99/2: 11 runs off the over
Archer is back for his second over and bowls four good balls.. But it is the two that give Pant some room that are clobbered away for 4 and 6. The young DD batsman looks in smooth tough today, as DD look comfortable in the driver’s seat here.
End of Over 9, DD 88/2: 8 runs off the over
Ben Stokes bowls another economic over... till a wide off the last ball gives Pant the chance to read the short ball and smash it duly for four.
Six and Out! Shaw departs on 47 off 25, caught & bold Gopal
Prithvi Shaw smacks a stylish Six to start the Gopal over but the spinner has the last laugh, completely foxing the young batsman. Doesn’t read the ball, tried to play against the turn but chips it straight back to the bowler who takes a simple, low catch. Tame dismissal after a terrific start.
This conversion is something Shaw will need to work on a lot more. Time for the Iyer and Pant show now, DD 80/2 after 8
End of Over 7, DD 68/1: Only 6 runs off the over
Ben Stokes with the ball now. The big-ticket buy hasn’t had a much of an impact this season, but he does bowl a tidy over without bleeding boundaries.
End of Over 6, DD 48/1: 14 runs off the over
Shreyas Gopal into the attack and bowls four tidy balls before Shreyas Iyer gets into the act and hits his first Six.
Make that 2 in a row, as Iyer makes the big shots look easy.
End of Over 5, DD 48/1: 15 runs off the over
Jaydev Unadkat comes in to bowl the last over of the Powerplay and minimise the damage but Shaw has other plans. He warms up with two back-to-back, high fours down the ground but the last ball is sent soaring straight and high for Six. What power! Can this be the match we see a longer, power-packed innings from the teenager?
End of Over 4, DD 33/1: K Gowtham gets the ball as spin is introduced
Single, boundary, single, boundary, single and dot as Iyer and Shaw keep the scorecard ticking with 11 runs in the over.
End of Over 3, DD 22/1: 16 runs off that Kulkarni over
Shaw sees the chance and he takes it, smacking the loose ball for a massive Six over midwicket. The first-ball maximum gives him the confidence, and a dot ball later he repeats it through mid-off. Another dot later, Shaw slaps his state mate for four.
But there is more drama to come in the over, as Kulkarni drops a straightforward, head-high return catch from the teen on the last ball of the over. Shaw is batting on 18 off 12, and DD will hope he makes the most of this reprieve.
End of Over 2, DD 6/1: Jofra Archer shares the new ball and gives away only 5, 4 of which come off a neat fine leg strike from Shreyas Iyer on the fourth ball giving DD their first boundary.
Wicket! Kulkarni strikes in the very first over and Munro is out on a first-ball duck. Pitches it full, gets an inside edge and the keeper Buttler takes a fine, low catch. Munro went for a full swing there but his feet didn’t move much and all he got was a thin knick. DD 1/1 after the first over.
90 minutes later, here we go!
Prithvi Shaw and Colin Munro to open, Dhawal Kulkarni with the new ball for RR.
9.10 PM: Inspection complete and looks like we will have an almost full game after all. It will be an 18 over contest, scheduled to start at 9.30 PM.
Only 3 bowlers from each side will be allowed to bowl their maximum quota of 4 overs. The Powerplay will be 5 overs for both teams.
Meanwhile, here is how Rajasthan Royals players are passing the time.
8.40 PM: Covers are coming off now. There will be an inspection in about 30 minutes from now and then we will know how many overs we lose here.
Remember, the last time these two teams played each other, rain was a crucial factor as RR won the rain-affected game.
8.30 PM: Updates from the capital suggest that the rain has eased down a little and the Kota groundsmen have started the super soppers work
8.05 PM: Covers are coming on at Kotla. The start has been delayed due to what is being called a slight drizzle in Delhi. The city was hit by a dust storm earlier in the day.
The slight drizzle seems like a downpour now. We will just have to wait and watch.
What advice do you think Ponting is giving young Prithvi Shaw?
So, Glenn Maxwell gets another game then. The Australian big-ticket buy needs to do some special, and soon, to be able to retain his place in the side.
Team changes: D’Arcy Short and Shreyas Gopal come in for Rajasthan, while Ish Sodhi has been left out. Delhi get Shahbaz Nadeem in for Rahul Tewatia
7.30 PM: Rajasthan Royals win the toss and choose to bowl first. “Wicket looks pretty good so we are looking to chase,” says captain Ajinkya Rahane.
It is a must-win match for DD with only 4 points so far and RR wouldn’t want a loss either at 6 points. A win would take them to the Top 4 for now.
Its is also going to be a battle of two top Australian minds – Shane Warne vs Ricky Ponting.
07:00 pm: Hello all and welcome to the live blog of Match no 32, between bottom-placed Delhi Daredevils and slightly better placed at 6, Rajasthan Royals.