IPL 2018: RR bowlers hold nerves, defeat Delhi by 10 runs in rain-hit match

RR made 153-5 in 17.5 overs before rain came in

IPL 2018: In a ran hit match, Rajasthan Royals beat Delhi Daredevils by 10 runs under the D-L method. The revised target for Delhi was 71 from 36 balls. But Delhi batsmen could not clear the fence as they would have liked. Ben Lughlin was the pick of the bowler as he bowled clinical spells and took wickets.Put into bat first, Rajasthan Royals made 153-5 in 17.5 overs when rain struck. The shower was heavy and it consumed a lot of time for the ground staff to clear the puddles. The revised target for Delhi Daredevils is 71 from 6 overs. Here are the revised playing conditions:

Target 71, Powerplay of 2 overs and every bowler can bowl a maximum of 2 overs.Over 18: Shami back. Butler moves away, gives himself room and clears the fence for six. Not a good day for Shami. That was a treat to watch. Dot ball, onto the pads. Brilliant stuff from Shami, again onto the pads, saw Butler moving away. Well done. Butler moves across, tries to play it behind the wicket, ball hits the stumps.

Butler gone for 29 from 18. More importantly, that is 3 dot balls in a row in 18th over. Krishnappa Gowtham comes in. Shami bangs one short and it is wide. Gowtham flicks for 2 and covers are on the field. Rain comes pouring down. After 17.5 overs RR 1535Rajasthan Royals innings at a glance after 18 overs:Asked to bat first after Delhi Daredevils captain Gautam Gambhir won the toss, Ajinkya Rahane and D’Arcy Short opened the batting for Rajasthan Royals. In the first over Rajasthan Royals openers gave RR a decent start as they looked cautious of Trent Boult’s swinging deliveries. Shabaz Nadeem came in to bowl in the second over and was hit for a boundary off the very first ball. But Short’s shots were few and, like in the first match against SRH, he was rut out by Vijay Shanker’s direct hit while taking a second run off the second ball of the 2nd over. Ben stokes came to bat after Short’s dismissal. Boult gave away 5 runs in his second over as the bowl was swinging and it was hard for Stokes and Rahane to score big. Things weighing more in favour of Delhi Daredevils so far.

Chris Morris replaced Nadeem for the 4th over of the innings and he did not look as threating as Boult: He gave away 9 runs, including a six over the square, which was hit by Ben Stokes, in his over.However, a swinging Trent Boult delivery got rid of Stokes, who was looking good after his rusty innings against SRH, as Rishab Pant took a diving catch. Sanju Samson, who came to bat after the Stokes’ wicket, dispatched Boult for a four at point and a six over square leg in the 5th over the innings. Even though they lost Ben Stokes’ wicket, Delhi Daredevils gave away 15 runs. Samson looked in a good touch as he was timing the bowl well. After giving 9 runs in his first over, Chris Morris pulled it back a little for Delhi Daredevils and gave away 8 runs off his next.

Rajasthan Royals do not seem to be having any better luck than the first game, which they lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad by 9 wickets. So far, they have lost two quick wickets in the form of D’Arcy Short and Ben Stokes. As at the end of 10 overs, skipper Ajinkya Rahane is playing carefully, and Sanju Samson is going for the runs from the other end – together, are trying to building a partnership without risking much.After the end of powerplay, Rahane and Samson put up a good partnership to bring back Rajasthan Royals in the game after initial jitters. They had a 62-run partnership before Samson got bowled off Nadeem bowling in the 11th over of the inning. Samson’s wicket was a big blow for RR as he was looking good. Butler, who came to bat also looked good as he swept Tewatia for a four in the second ball he faced. While trying to accelerate, Rahane greeted Shami in his 2nd over with two boundaries. Rahane got out of Nadeem’s bowling as he tried to pull Nadeem and got a leading edge to point.

Tewatia who has been economical throughout innings gave away 9 runs as Rajasthan Royals looked desperate to score quick runs. Tewatia finished his final quota of over with a figure of 29 runs with no wickets.Rahul Tripathi greeted Chris Morris with a six over mid-wicket followed by Butler’s six over long on. Chris Morris leaked 18 runs as Rajasthan Royals came back into the game with a bang.Butler is in hitting mode as he brings 150 runs for Rajasthan Royals with a six over long off and putting Delhi under immence pressure.

But Shami pulled for Delhi as he got rid of dangerous Butler of the 4th ball of the 18th over. Butler scored 29 runs off 16 balls with a strike rate of 161.11.And the match is stopped due to rain Here are a few things you should know about the Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils match being played at Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur, the two squads and what to expect from Match 6 of IPL 2018: Rahane on loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad and what needs to be done to escape defeat: Skipper Anjikya Rahane too would like to forget the outing where he failed with the bat, missed a sitter in slips and also gambled with batting only to see a complete rout of his team. "We thought on this wicket, 150-160 would have been ideal total because ball was doing the bit and medium pacers got good help. But, we didn't get that one partnership. I think we lost crucial wickets in between. Partnership was the key in between. I think foreigners who played, they are really good. D'Arcy Short, he did really well in Big Bash, did well for Australia recently, Joss Butler and Stokes, we all know how dangerous they are and Ben Laughlin is an experienced bowler in T20 cricket," Rahane said at the post-match press conference.How Delhi Daredevils played against Kings XI Punjab: Newly appointed captain Gautam Gambhir (55) led from the front but lacked support around him. Delhi's batting is not that strong either with lack of experieneced names effecting the middle order. Lokesh Rahul's 16-ball 55 -- fastest IPL fifty -- made matters worse for them but a cause of worry for Delhi is seamer Mohammed Shami going for a lot of runs as Delhi will want him to deliver alongwith New Zealand pacer Trent Boult. Delhi will start as favourites against Rajasthan but unlike their first match if the likes of in-form D'Arcy Short, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler or Ben Laughlin fire on the morrow, it could well be Rajasthan's field day at home as all the players have reputation of turning the game around.

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