IPL 2021, DC vs RR as it happened: Delhi Capitals win by 33 runs to go atop the points table again

Delhi Capitals win by 33 runs

Rishabh Pant and Co return to the top of the points table. Sanju Samson remains unbeaten on 70 off 53 for RR, he got little support with the bat from his teammates.

RR /110 6 after 19 overs: Dropped! That was a sitter at sweeper cover and Dhawan made a meal of it. Samson the lucky batter, Rabada the unlucky bowler. DC are almost home, though.

RR 101/6 after 18 overs: A sensational over from Nortje – a wicket and just two singles from it. He finishes with phenomenal figures of 2/18 from his four overs. RR need 54 off 12, they have Samson and Shamsi at the crease.

RR 99/6 after 17.2 overs: WICKET! Nortje gets his second as Tewatia (9 off 15) pulls it to fine-leg. Delhi Capitals inch closer to victory.

RR 99/5 after 17 overs: Fine over from Avesh, just eight runs from it. RR now need 56 off 18. It’s now or never for the men in pink.

FIFTY for Sanju Samson! He has faced 39 balls. The RR skipper has fought a lone battle so far. Can he power his team to victory?

RR 91/5 after 16 overs: Samson brings out the reverse sweep and picks up four. Nine runs from that Axar over. RR need much more than one boundary per over.

RR 82/5 after 15 overs: Three fours for Samson! Brilliant batting from the right-hander as he decides to go after Rabada. The RR skipper moves on to 41 off 34. His team needs 73 off 30.

RR 68/5 after 14 overs: Shot! Samson opens the face of the bat, plays it late, and picks up a boundary past the keeper. Nine runs come from that Nortje over.

RR 59/5 after 13 overs: Just three runs come from Ashwin’s last over. He finishes with fantastic figures of 1/20. RR have Samson and Tewatia at the crease now. They need 96 off 42.

RR 55/5 after 11.5 overs: WICKET! Riyan Parag doesn’t last long as Axar Patel rattles his stumps. The right-hander misread the length, rocked back to pull it but was too late and the ball went through. Delhi Capitals have used five bowlers so far and they all have taken a wicket each.

RR 48/4 after 10.2 overs: WICKET! Rabada gets in on the act as Lomror pulls it straight to fine-leg. Delhi Capitals continue to dominate with the ball. Riyan Parag is the new batter.

RR 43/3 after 9 overs: SIX! RR finally get their first maximum of the innings as Lomror steps out to Ashwin and slams one straight over. RR need 112 off 66.

RR 34/3 after 8 overs: Now Axar joins the attack and bowls a quiet over. Rajasthan are going slow even by ODI standards. They need 121 off 72.

RR 28/3 after 7 overs: Rajasthan get their first boundary in the seventh over. Samson with a masterful reverse-sweep off Ashwin. RR need 127 off 78.

RR 21/3 after 6 overs: Just two singles from Kagiso Rabada’s first over. Delhi dominated the powerplay and are in the driver’s seat now. Rajasthan need a big, aggressive partnership.

RR 17/3 after 4.2 overs: WICKET! Ashwin strikes in his first over as Miller is stumped! Poor cricket from the South Africa left-hander. He stepped out and attempted a slog but missed the ball by a mile. Delhi Capitals are on fire at the moment. Mahipal Lomror is the new batter. Meanwhile, Ashwin has now taken 250 wickets in T20 cricket.

RR 17/2 after 4 overs: Samson survives! It was a fiery bouncer from Nortje and the right-hander attempted a pull, the ball bounced off his shoulder and Pant took a good diving catch. The umpire raised his finger immediately but DRS was taken and it showed no spike when the ball crossed the gloves.

RR 15/2 after 3 overs: Just the four singles in Avesh’s second over. Rajasthan face an uphill task from hereon. They need 140 off 102 with eight wickets in hand.

RR 11/2 after 2 overs: Delhi have turned the match on its head with these two early strikes. Rajasthan now have Sanju Samson and David Miller at the crease.

RR 6/2 after 1.1 over: OUT! Two wickets in two balls for Delhi Capitals! This time Anrich Nortje strikes as Yashasvi Jaiswal edges it to the keeper. RR have lost both their openers.

RR 6/1 after 1 over: WICKET! Avesh Khan strikes in the first over! Liam Livingstone was promoted up the order but the move doesn’t work for RR. The right-hander stepped out and tried to pull the ball but got an edge to the keeper. Game on!

5.35 pm: The target for RR is 155. The players are back on the field for the chase. Here we go!

END OF INNINGS: Delhi Capitals finish with 154/6 in 20 overs. Mustafizur Rahman finishes with superb figures of 2/22. RR have done a fine job with the ball and will fancy their chances of chasing down this total.

DC 145/6 after 19 overs: Sakariya finishes with figures of 2/33 from his four overs. Ashwin and Lalit are at the crease now. Can Delhi touch 160?

DC 142/6 after 18.2 overs: WICKET! Six and out! Sakariya gets his second as Axar hits it straight to long-on. RR continue to chip away.

DC 135/5 after 18 overs: Tyagi concedes 11 runs in that over after a misfield off the last ball give Lalit four. The right-arm pacer finishes with figures of 1/40 from his four overs.

DC 121/5 after 16.3 overs: WICKET! Shimron Hetmyer (28 off 16) hit five fours in two overs but Mustafizur Rahman returns to the attack to remove the dangerous left-hander. Delhi Capitals need a big finish. Axar Patel joins Lalit Yadav at the crease.

DC 120/4 after 16 overs: Three more fours for Hetmyer! The left-hander is playing a potentially game-changing knock for Delhi. Tyagi returns to the attack and ends up conceding three boundaries behind square on the off side.

DC 104/4 after 15 overs: Two fours for Hetmyer! Sakariya tried to mix it up but the left-hander managed to find the middle of the bat.

DC 90/4 after 13.2 overs: WICKET! Tewatia gets the key wicket of Iyer (43 off 32) thanks to a smart stumping from Samson. Iyer tried to whack it but missed the ball and dragged his back foot out of the crease in the process. Delhi Capitals have lost both set batters and are in trouble.

DC 90/3 after 13 overs: Fine over from Shamsi, just six runs from it. He finishes with figures off 0/34 from his four overs. Delhi will be looking to get at least 60 runs in the last seven overs.

DC 83/3 after 11.4 overs: WICKET! Mustafizur Rahman returns to the attack and gets the breakthrough for RR. Rishabh Pant (24 off 24) goes for a pull and drags it on. Big setback for Delhi Capitals. Shimron Hetmyer is the new batter.

DC 79/2 after 11 overs: Shot! Another six for Iyer! This time Shamsi gives the ball air and Iyer goes inside-out over cover. Again, that was a tough shot but he made it look easy.

DC 66/2 after 10 overs: Delhi finally get their first six of the innings! Tewatia tosses it up and Iyer smacks it straight over for a maximum. The right-hander made that look easy. DC need a lot more of this.

DC 56/2 after 9 overs: Shot! Shamsi tosses it up and Pant plays a well-controlled sweep for four. This was just the fourth boundary of the DC innings. They are yet to hit a six.

DC 47/2 after 8 overs: Now Tewatia comes on to bowl and concedes just five singles in his first over. Rajasthan’s bowlers have done a fine job so far. Expect Pant or Iyer, or both, to try and cut loose soon.

DC 42/2 after 7 overs: Shamsi, the top-ranked T20I bowler in the world, joins the attack and concedes six singles in his first over. This is the left-arm wrist spinner’s debut game for Rajasthan.

DC 36/2 after 6 overs: Delhi finally get a push as both Iyer and Pant pick up boundaries. Tyagi was a bit all over the place in that over.

DC 21/2 after 4.1 overs: WICKET! Delhi Capitals have lost both their openers! This time Prithvi Shaw (10 off 12) attempts a slog, loses his shape and offers a simple catch to Liam Livingstone at mid-off. Chetan Sakariya gets the wicket. RR on top! Rishabh Pant is the new batter.

DC 21/1 after 4 overs: The end of a top over from Tyagi, just three runs and a wicket from it. Shreyas Iyer is the new batter for Delhi. They need to get a move on quickly.

DC 18/1 after 3.1 overs: WICKET! Kartik Tyagi comes on to bowl and strikes with his first ball! Shikhar Dhawan (8 off 8) played it with soft hands but ended up chopping the ball onto the stumps.

DC 18/0 after 3 overs: Shaw manages to pick up a hat-trick of twos but that was another good over for RR, bowled by Chetan Sakariya. The sweepers have been useful so far and the Delhi openers are struggling to find boundaries.

DC 11/0 after 2 overs: Mahipal Lomror takes the new ball from the other end and Dhawan cuts his first ball through the gap for four. But the left-arm spinner does well to bowl four dot balls after that.

DC 6/0 after 1 over: Steady start from Mustafizur. Samson starts with sweepers on either side of the pitch and the Delhi openers manage to pick singles through the gaps.

3.30 pm: Right, the players have taken the field in scorching conditions in Abu Dhabi. Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan are opening the batting for Delhi Capitals. Mustafizur Rahman has the new ball in hand for Rajasthan Royals. Here we go!

Playing XIs

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (w/c), Liam Livingstone, David Miller, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Kartik Tyagi, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman, Tabraiz Shamsi.

Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (w/c), Lalit Yadav, Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan.

3.03 pm: Two changes for RR – Evin Lewis and Chris Morris make way for Tabraiz Shamsi and David Miller. One change for DC – Lalit Yadav replaces Marcus Stoinis.

TOSS:

Sanju Samson has won the toss and RR will bowl first.

2.50 pm: Hello and welcome to live coverage of match No 36 of Indian Premier League 2021. In today’s first match, Rishabh Pant’s Delhi Capitals take on Sanju Samson’s Rajasthan Royals in Abu Dhabi.