Delhi Capitals won the first Super Over of IPL 2025 to move to the top of the points table while Rajasthan Royals were left to lament several missed chances to end their losing streak.
RR had done all the hard work until the 19th over of their innings and needed only 9 runs off 6 balls with two set batters at the crease but a sensational Mitchell Starc denied them over.
As the game headed to the Super Over, RR made could not even bat out the whole over. Riyan Parag was run out after facing just one ball and the in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had scored a fifty in the main game, was run out even without facing a ball in the Super Over bowled by Starc.
In response, DC needed just 4 balls to polish off the 12 run target off Sandeep Sharma to move to 10 points and within striking distance of a playoffs berth.
RR bottle chase again
RR needed something special from their seasoned openers to put them on course for 189.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was quick off the blocks and hit his 3rd fifty in the last four matches after a poor start to the tournament. Sanju Samson, who has also struggled for consistency, hit a rapid 31 off 19 before retiring out. That provided a good opportunity for Riyan Parag to stamp his class but Axar Patel pocketed his first wicket of the season after dismissing him to bring DC back into the game.
Jaiswal was dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav in the 14th over with the asking rate now climbing for RR; however, it was a Delhi boy who would eventually bring the visitors on the cusp of victory.
Nitish Rana, who plays domestic cricket for Delhi, hit his first IPL half-century at the Arun Jaitley stadium. Before this game, he had scores of 8, 1 and 4 at his home ground. Rana was sent back by Mitchell Starc with RR on 161 in the 18th over but not before he had hammered 51 off 28 balls.
Dhruv Jurel played a nice cameo while Shimron Hetmyer played a good support role to score the remaining runs without any fuss to bring the Royals closer to their target.
Victory for RR was only a matter of time by then. They needed 9 off the fina over and DC, who have been a champion bowling side this summer, banked on Mitchell Starc to deliver a stunning over; he conceded only 8 runs to a set Jurel and a dangerous Hetmyer as the game went to a Super Over.
Stubbs-Axar propel DC
The DC innings was given early momentum by Abhishek Porel but Jake Fraser-McGurk added to his poor run of scores. So far, he has 1, 38, 0, 7, 0 and 9 this season and it’s clear he is running out of time now.
Karun Nair, who almost pulled off a stunning win against Mumbai Indians a few nigts back, was run out for a duck and the focus was on Porel and KL Rahul, who has reinvented himself as a T20 batter.
However, the going got a little tough and DC did not accelerate as quickly as they would have liked in that 3rd wicket partnership. Porel and Rahul added 63 runs in 9.2 overs. They were both dismissed in successive overs – Rahul for 38 and Porel for 49 and only two blistering 34s from Tristan Stubbs and Axar Patel helped DC finish with a competitive 188 for 5.
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