RR VS DC MATCH 9

Right then, that's all from this entertaining game where the momentum swung back and forth, but in the end, it was Rajasthan who took home the two points. The action continues on Friday, the 29th of March, when Bengaluru will take on Kolkata. Both teams are coming off a win, and it promises to be a cracker of a game at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The first ball will be bowled at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT), but you can join us earlier for the build-up. Cheers!

Riyan Parag is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his brilliance with the bat. He starts by saying that the emotions have settled now and it was special to play in front of his mother who was present in the stands. Adds that she has seen the struggles and it feels special. Shares that it has a lot to do with the domestic season where he scored a lot of runs. Feels that someone in the top four has to bat deep. Ends by saying that he was in bed for the last three days and he is happy with himself of what he was able to do in this game.

Sanju Samson, the Rajasthan skipper, says that it was a roller coaster of a game. Adds that they asked Rovman Powell to get ready for batting but the players in the middle did a fine job and took us to an excellent score. Shares that the IPL is changing and they need to be flexible. Mentions that 15 players need to be ready all the time now and they were always discussing in the middle of the batting innings on the impact player. Adds that the extra bowler in the lineup helped them a lot. States that each day is different for an individual player. Says that Avesh Khan and Sandeep Sharma looked the best in the park and he backed his instinct. Ends by saying that Riyan Parag was always been in the discussion in the past few years and he has started to show his talent now. Further adds that he has huge potential and can serve their side as well as the Indian team in the long run.

Time for the presentation ceremony...

The star of the final over, Avesh Khan is in for a chat. He shares that his plan was clear to bowl the wide yorkers because one side of the boundary was longer. Adds that he was giving himself time before delivering each ball. Mentions that his focus has always been on execution and feels that going for boundaries off yorkers doesn't worry him because the batters have come to hit the ball and he always backs his yorkers. Shares that he is enjoying his time with Rajasthan and they have great experience with Trent Boult, Nandre Burger and Sandeep Sharma in the ranks. Further adds that the skipper, Sanju Samson backs him always in executing his plans. States that he always tries to improve and invent new deliveries in this format. Ends by saying that he does not focus on selection and focuses on his processes.

The captain of Delhi, Rishabh Pant says that he is disappointed but shares that the team needs to learn from this. Adds that the bowlers did a fine job till the 16th over but it did not go according to their plan in the death. Mentions that they got a good platform from Mitchell Marsh and David Warner but the middle order did not carry on from there and they fell short at the end. Shares that there was always an option to use Anrich Nortje against Riyan Parag but wanted to save him for the death overs. Ends by sharing that Nortje is a class bowler and the team will bounce back from here.

Earlier in the game, after Rishabh Pant called it right and opted to bowl first, Rajasthan's batting effort was a tale of two halves. Having lost their top three of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson inside the first eight overs, Rajasthan had their backs against the wall. Sent in at number 5, Ravichandran Ashwin started off slowly before getting three sixes away to inject some impetus into the Rajasthan innings. Riyan Parag took his time initially and batted intending to take the inning deep. He pressed on the accelerator just at the right time and found allies in Dhruv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer. Parag with his best Indian T20 League score of 84 helped Rajasthan recover from 36/3 to get to 185. All five bowlers used by Rishabh Pant had a wicket to their name but Axar Patel was the most economical of the lot, going for just 21 runs from his four overs.

Having let Rajasthan off the hook in the second half of their bowling effort, Delhi had all to do in their chase of 186 runs. Mitchell Marsh made his intentions clear straightaway and raced off the blocks quickly. It was a short stay at the crease for him after which David Warner took the mantle and found boundaries at will. Playing in his 100th Indian T20 League game, Rishabh Pant was happy to knock it around with Warner ticking along nicely at the other end. When the two southpaws were out in the middle, Delhi looked in control. Warner fell one run short of his fifty before Pant perished in his quest to break free. Tristan Stubbs waged a lone fight and kept Delhi in the hunt right till the final over with his clean ball striking. However, 17 runs to get in the final over proved to be just too much for him and the way Avesh executed his yorkers made it even more difficult for Stubbs.

Take a bow, Avesh Khan! It was a yorker masterclass in the final over from Avesh, which has helped Rajasthan make it two wins out of two. Having managed to win only once at Jaipur last season, Rajasthan are starting to build a fortress in the Pink City and the trend of home team winning their games continues in the 2024 Indian T20 League. At the start, Trent Boult bowled a tidy first over, giving just 2 runs away. However, the Impact Player, Nandre Burger could not quite back it up from the other end. The move to hand Burger another over in the Powerplay paid rich dividends for Rajasthan as he went bang, bang to pull it back a bit. It was a quiet phase after the Powerplay for Rajasthan as David Warner took them on and it left Sanju Samson scratching his head for a breakthrough. Avesh Khan put his hand up to dismiss Warner before Chahal got into the act to see the back of the Delhi skipper. Sandeep Sharma quietly went about his business and deprived the Delhi batters of boundaries. Tristan Stubbs gave them a real score and almost made them pay for dropping him when he was on 14. With 17 runs needed off the final over, Avesh Khan answered the skipper's call and nailed his yorkers to close out the game for his side.

THAT WILL BE IT! Avesh Khan has won this for Rajasthan! Bowls a pin point yorker at the stumps. Axar Patel works it through mid-wicket for a single. Delhi finish on 173 for 5 and fall short by 12 runs in the end. A terrific win for the home side who make it two in two to start their season.

Low full toss slanting across the batter. Axar Patel swings hard and misses.

Full-length delivery, just outside off. Stubbs slogs across the line and gets an inside edge to backward square leg for a run.

Pitched full, outside off. Axar Patel drills it to long off and can only take a single.

A terrific wide yorker, angling across, from Avesh Khan. Axar Patel plays and misses it.

Bowls a brilliant yorker, just outside off. Stubbs can only manage to bunt this into the off-side.

Avesh Khan has been given the task of bowling the final over. Delhi require 17 runs and it will be Tristan Stubbs on strike.

Wide yorker from Sandeep Sharma. Axar Patel squeezes it to the third man region and takes a brace. Delhi needs 17 off the final over. This game has gone down to the wire.