IPL 7, DD vs RR, Highlights: Rajasthan Royals' Young Brigade Stars in Seven-Wicket Win Over Delhi Daredevils

Rajasthan Royals beat Delhi Daredevils by seven wickets in Match 23 of IPL 7. Catch highlights here: (Scorecard | Commentary | Points Table | Full Schedule)

 

 

23:43 (IST): So, a brilliant win then for Rajasthan Royals over the Delhi Daredevils. The fact that young players like Sanju Samson and Karun Nair stepped up and took responsibility made the win even more special. Rajasthan skipper Shane Watson was visibly excited at the prospect of young players in his team doing well and said the bowlers did well to restrict Delhi Daredevils to 152 initially. He also lauded Karun Nair for playing a brilliant hand. Nair was also the Man of the Match for his unbeaten 73-run knock and he thanked Watson and the seniors for supporting him although he did not do that well in the UAE. That's it from us then!

 

23:28 (IST): Rajasthan Royals beat Delhi Daredevils by seven wickets. This is their fourth win in six IPL7 games. Karun Nair finishes at 73 not out.

 

23:15 (IST): This has been a brilliant innings from Karun Nair (60*), getting his first 50 in the IPL. RR need 17 now to beat DD.

 

23:09 (IST): Watson wants to get this over and done with! Gets six off Nadeem! RR need 29 runs to win off 26 balls.

 

23:08 (IST): OUT! Rajat Bhatia b Shami 17. RR 115/3 (15 overs). Need just 36 runs to win off 30 balls. Shane Watson is coming out to bat.

 

22:53 (IST): Rajat Bhatia gets a huge six off Rahul Sharma! RR 94/2 (12.3 overs). Karun Nair (35* off 31 balls) looks good on the other end.

 

22:42 (IST): OUT! Sanju Samson (34) is gone, stumped by Karthik off Nadeem! At the halfway stage, RR are 71/2 (10 overs) chasing 153 vs DD. Rajat Bhatia comes in to bat.

22:29 (IST): Nice move-on here from Samson and Nair. They have taken RR to 47/1 (7 overs), which is always decent when chasing 153.

 

22:18 (IST): After five overs, Rajasthan Royals are 31/1 chasing 153 vs DD. Karun Nair (10*), Sanju Samson (6*).

 

22:08 (IST): OUT! Stunning catch! Rahane c Vijay b Parnell 12. RR 20/1 (2.5 overs) chasing 153 vs DD. And we have an interesting celebration from Parnell who jigs a little!

 

22:00 (IST): Ajinkya Rahane makes room and hits Shami on the off-side for a 4! A fraction short! RR 10/0 (1.3 overs). Karun Nair is with him on the other end.

 

21:40 (IST): Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy guide Delhi Daredevils to 152/5 (20 overs) against Rajasthan Royals.

 

21:38 (IST): OUT! Duminy (39) is gone as he holes out to Rajat Bhatia on the fence. DD 141/5 (19.3 overs). The Delhi cheerleaders seem a bit worried.

 

21:34 (IST): Duminy (33*) smashes one straight down for four! This time off Faulkner! DD now 135/4 (19.1 overs) with Kane Richardson bowling the last over.

21:22 (IST): It was Kedar Jadhav's time last year in the IPL as DD failed to impress! Can it be the same again? DD 110/4 (16.4 overs). Jadhav got a six to start things up for himself, by the way! Duminy is there to support him on the other end.

 

21:16 (IST): OUT! Dinesh Karthik c Binny b Faulkner 12. DD 96/4 (15.2 overs) vs RR. This is a big blow for the Daredevils and they are in all sorts of trouble now.

21:12 (IST): Dinesh Karthik & JP Duminy content to just take ones and twos off Pravin Tambe! DD 94/3 (14.5 overs).

 

21:02 (IST): Dinesh Karthik plays a trademark straight drive but its stopped well at the boundary for 2! DD 85/3 (12.5 overs).

 

22:50 (IST): OUT! It's the golden arm of Pravin Tambe again! Quinton de Kock c & b Tambe 43. DD 71/3 (10 overs).

 

22:47 (IST): OUT! Kevin Pietersen c Smith b Tambe 14. DD 69/2 (9.3 overs). The soccer-like boundary-hitting one-two between Pietersen and de Kock finally comes to an end as De Kock eyes a 50.

 

20:36 (IST): 50 comes up for Delhi Daredevils after 7 overs. Quinton de Kock (33*), Kevin Pietersen (4*). Pietersen looked to be clearly run out on the second ball of this Bhatia over but the umpire didn't want to refer it upstairs. Huge controversy!

20:22 (IST): OUT! Murali Vijay c Watson b Faulkner 13. DD 33/1 (4.1 overs). What a turnaround for Faulkner this is, in his last two games for RR.

 

20:16 (IST): FOUR! After three overs, Delhi Daredevils are 22/0 vs Rajasthan Royals. De Kock (13*) gets 2000 runs in T20s. Murali Vijay (9*) looks good at the other end too, although a little hesitant as compared to de Kock! The DD girls are in the mood for some fun.

 

20:05 (IST): Delhi Daredevils get nine in the first over bowled by Stuart Binny. Quinton de Kock looks to be in good touch. DD 9/0 (1 over).

 

19:43 (IST): For Rajasthan Royals, Iqbal Abdulla sits out for Dhawal Kulkarni. Delhi Daredevils have opted for leg-spinner Rahul Sharma in place of seamer Laxmi Shukla.

 

19:41 (IST): Rajasthan Royals have won the toss and will be fielding first against Delhi Daredevils.

 

 

PREVIEW

After a topsy-turvy run in the UAE, Delhi Daredevils would look to kick off their India leg on a positive note when they clash with a resurgent Rajasthan Royals in an Indian Premier League match at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium here on Saturday.

Out of five matches, Delhi won just two against Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians, while Rajasthan have three victories to show after which they are lying at the third place in the points table.

Both the teams, however, will take a lot of confidence from their comprehensive victories in their last match of the UAE leg.

While Delhi notched up a six-wicket win over Mumbai last Sunday, Rajasthan showed nerves of steel to edge out Kolkata via the Super over and the two teams will look to outwit each other.

For Delhi, JP Duminy and Murali Vijay have been among the runs, while Dinesh Karthik too has a half-century to show. But a lot will be expected from the rest of the batsmen such as opener Quinton de Kock, Ross Taylor and captain Kevin Pietersen.

For the bowlers, pacer Jaydev Unadkat and spinner Shahbaz Nadeem have taken six and four wickets, respectively so far but the Daredevils will need other bowlers to fire as well.

Skipper Pietersen will want their pacers Mohammad Shami and Wayne Parnell to step up their performance but Delhi also need someone to support Nadeem at the spin department, considering the fact that Duminy has not been successful with his off-breaks. (Read full Preview)

 

 

PIETERSEN IN LOVE WITH DELHI METRO

Kevin Pietersen is mighty pleased with Delhi Metro. The Delhi Daredevils captain posted a picture of Delhi's 'Tube' in his twitter account saying how it made life easy to travel in a bustling city where traffic jams are very common.

Former England star Pietersen, wrote on his twitter: "On the Delhi Metro to our home ground...brilliant way to travel to avoid traffic! The Delhi team was on its way to Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi's home ground for the Indian Premier League. The Indian leg of the IPL starts in Ranchi on Friday with Kolkata Knight Riders taking on Chennai Super Kings.

Delhi open their Indian leg with a match against Rajasthan Royals on Saturday evening. Currently seventh in the eight-team table with two wins from five matches in UAE, Delhi will surely look for 'home' advantage. Pietersen, who missed Delhi's initial games due to injury, also has to justify his Rs 9-crore price tag. (Read full story)

 

 

DRAVID PRAISES RAJASTHAN'S WIN OVER KOLKATA

Rajasthan Royals mentor Rahul Dravid feels that to come up trumps in a thrilling 'Super Over' finish is a "huge step forward" towards getting the team together for a common goal which is to win the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League.

"Last night's win was a huge step forward for the team. A win like this works wonders for the team spirit and bonding. The best part about the UAE leg is the fact that we have won more matches (three) than we have lost (two)," Dravid told mediapersons during a promotional event in New Delhi on Wednesday.

The performance in the UAE leg will be a great confidence booster as they now head into the India leg of the tournament.

"We have played some very good cricket in the UAE and that keeps us in good stead. We now head into the India leg where the competition will be equally tough as all teams are evenly matched."

The former India captain and Test stalwart tried to look at the positive aspect of playing the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera after BCCI ruled out their home ground Sawai Man Singh Stadium (SMS), a venue that had turned into a virtual fortress for the Royals where they did not lose a single home match last year.

"We really had a good time in Jaipur -- on and off the field. We were able to create a huge fan base and people out there were very nice and warm. Ahmedabad certainly will be different but we hope to have an equally good time there too. I myself have played a lot of cricket there. Hopefully, we will have 'two nice homes' now," the 41-year-old tried to look at the positives. (Read full story)