An all-round effort from Delhi Capitals (DC) witnessed them outplay the Rajasthan Royals (RR) by a margin of 13 runs in Dubai on Wednesday. DC bowling spearhead Kagiso Rabada spoke how they knew it was going to be tough against Rajasthan Royals especially after the start the latter received, courtesy the duo of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler for notching up a 37-run opening stand.
“Just glad that we won. Stokes and Buttler got off to a great start but we knew it would get tough to bat if we used our line and length smartly along with the field settings,” said the 25-year-old in the post-match presentation.
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Defending 162 runs against a side that has a solid batting order in Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, skipper Steve Smith, Sanju Samson, and Robin Uthappa wasn’t going to be an easy task for the Delhi Capitals. Not to mention, the presence of Rahul Tewatia who has been one of the core contributors to RR’s wins in IPL 2020. However, DC dominated their rivals by bowling economical spells, building pressure, and forcing them to give up their wickets.
In the spin department, R Ashwin (1/17) stood tall followed by Axar Patel (1/32). Among the pacers, Tushar Deshpande and Anrich Nortje picked two wickets each while Rabada managed to get a solitary dismissal to his name.
We learn a lot from each other: Kagiso Rabada on Anrich Nortje
Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje are among the highest wicket-takers in the concurrent edition of IPL. The duo has played a key role in curbing the opposition’s scoring rate in clutch moments.
While the Purple Cap lies with Rabada who has picked 18 wickets in 8 matches and averages a mere 13.38, Nortje is picking up the pace and so far has scalped 10 wickets, averaging 23.50 and an economy of 7.34.
Against Rajasthan Royals, Nortje was awarded the ‘Player of the Match’ for his dismissals of Jos Buttler (22, 9b) and Robin Uthappa (32, 25b), and either one’s presence could have turned the outcome of the game. He ended his quota with figures of 4-0-33-2. On his partnership with Nortje, Rabada believes he could learn a few tricks from him but at the same time help him in areas concerned.
“We learn a lot from each other. He is a real fast bowler and I can learn some technical stuff from him. I have some experience which I can tell him about. It is good to chat.”
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Meanwhile, the match witnessed fiery deliveries from Nortje who was bowling at speeds over 145kmph consistently and at one point managed to clock 156kmph. Rabada jokingly added that Nortje might pass him comment for this later.
“It looks like that every game. Really happy for him but not happy for the batter. Maybe when we have a drink tonight he might slip a comment through. When we play we only think about the delivery and not about the speed gun,” said Rabada who was pretty economical in the concluded game and grabbed 1/17 in his overs.”
Tushar Deshpande has talent and hunger
Pacer Tushar Deshpande made his IPL debut for the DC in the last outing versus Rajasthan Royals and managed to pick wickets of Ben Stokes (41, 35b) when the momentum started to shift in Royals’ favor. In his 3rd over, Deshpande conceded mere 8 runs and in the final over of the match dismissed Shreyas Gopal to finish with figures of 4-0-37-2.
The Protea speedster lauded Deshpande’s passion for the game and feels he could be a potential player for the Indian cricket team in the future.
“Deshpande is a youngster who has a lot of passion for the game. He has talent and hunger and it didn’t look as if it was his first game. He has a lot of work to do and could be a real talent for India in the future,” said Rabada.
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With this win under their belt, DC is sitting atop the points table with 6 wins in 8 matches, 12 points, and an NRR of +0.990.
Delhi Capitals will now lock horns with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on October 17 in Sharjah.
