IPL 7 RR vs DD, Highlights: Rajasthan Royals Thrash Listless Delhi Daredevils

Rajasthan Royals beat Delhi Daredevils by 62 runs (Scorecard| Commentary | Points Table | Schedule)

23.53 (IST): Yet another poor showing from Delhi Daredevils has costed them their ninth loss of the season. The call to field first back-fired on skipper Pietersen and from that point on it has been all down hill for the team. They failed to get regular wickets and the Rajasthan Royals batsmen paced their innings to perfection. Rajasthan consolidate their third spot and have maintained their distance with the team at the fourth spot with three of them fighting it out for that place.

23.49 (IST): Ajinkya Rahane: Really enjoyed batting here. After first six overs, the wicket got a bit slow. We didn't really talk about targets during time out. We just wanted to back ourselves and stay positive. We just want one guy to bat till the end, today it was my turn.

 

23.45 (IST): Rajat Bhatia: It's definitely a great feeling when you get KP or Taylor or Gambhir out, have never played for the country, but to get these big players out, is a great feeling. I thanks Royals for the opportunity. You know your role, that's why I am doing well.

 

23.40 (IST): Rajasthan Royals captain Steven Smith: It was outstanding. I didn't have to do anything, sit on the sidelines and just field. it was perfect. I thought the wicket would slow up a bit and the bowlers bowled beautifully. It was a clinical performance all round. We like to target our opposition, the better players you know, and it has worked fine.. we hope to continue in the business end.

 

23.36 (IST): It's all over! Delhi finish on 139/9, 62 runs short of their target! Rajasthan record their seventh win of the season to consolidate their third spot.

23.29 (IST): Nine down! Delhi are just a wicket away from their ninth loss of the season. Rahul Shukla is gone, caught by Steve Smith off Kevon Cooper (DD 120/9, 18.1 overs)

23.21 (IST): 100 comes up! Delhi reach three-figure mark in 16.1 overs. It's of very little significance in a chase of 202.

23.15 (IST): Another one gone! Imran Tahir (4) is bowled by Stuart Binny (DD 91/8, 14.4 overs)

23.07 (IST): OUT! Nadeem (1) is gone, bowled by Cutting (DD 86/7, 13.2 overs)

23.01 (IST): More misery for Delhi! A little bit of hesitation between Kedar Jadhav and Manoj Tiwary and Ben Cutting runs the former out at the non-striker's end during his own over (DD 75/6, 11.4 overs)

22.53 (IST): Another wicket! Rajat Bhatia again! He takes a catch off his own bowling to send Ross Taylor packing. (DD 58/5, 9.2 overs)

22.41 (IST): Oh dear! Kevin Pietersen's miserable stay at the wicket ends! He is bowled by Rajat Bhatia. (DD 48/4, 7.4 overs)

22.37 (IST): Duminy smashes Tambe for a straight six but the Indian spinner has the last laugh as Duminy is gone, caught by Karun Nair off the very next ball (DD 43/3, 7 overs)

 

22.31 (IST): JP Duminy walks out at No.4.

22.29 (IST): OUT! Dinesh Karthik goes cheaply! Ben Cutting holds on to a catch a fine leg off Kulkarni! Delhi are in some trouble in the run chase here (DD 30/2 in 4.4 overs)

22.18 (IST): LUCKY KP! What happened there? The second last ball of the third over saw Pietersen fall short of his ground while taking a single. He dragged his bat but it was stuck in the ground and the direct throw found him short. Bizarrely however, nobody appealed and KP is still in the middle. How costly is this going to be? This, by the way, is the second time when Pietersen has actually fallen short of the crease and survived.

22.12 (IST): Agarwal piles the misery on Cutting with two successive fours in his over. 15 runs come from it. (DD 19/0, 2 overs)

22.10 (IST): DROPPED! Mayank Agarwal gets a chance as Ben Cutting puts down a sitter at deep fine-leg, off Dhawal Kulkarni (DD 5/0, 0.4 overs)

22.07 (IST): Kevin Pietersen and Mayank Agarwal open the innings for Delhi Daredevils.

22.05 (IST): Rahul Shukla, who was plundered for 44 runs off 4 overs, bowled the most number of dot balls (11) among the DD bowlers.

22.00 (IST): Majority of RR's runs coming through mid-wicket, covers and straight of the wicket today.

21.56 (IST): Some incredible hitting towards the end from James Faulkner has taken Rajasthan Royals past the 200-run mark. He finishes on 23 (8).

21.55 (IST): Rajasthan Royals post 201/6 vs Delhi Daredevils.

21.45 (IST): Another biggie! It's Faulkner's turn to smash Tiwary over deep mid-wicket (RR 186/5, 19 overs)

21.44 (IST): Ben Cutting is making his case for continued selection! He whacks Tiwary for a humungous six that lands on the roof! (RR 178/5, 18.3 overs)

21.40 (IST): Samson is gone! His cameo ends at 40 off 25 balls, caught by Kedar Jadhav at long-on off Tahir (RR 169/5, 18 overs)

21.37 (IST): Another wicket! Stuart Binny departs for a duck, stumped by Dinesh Karthik off Tahir (RR 168/4, 17.2 overs)

21.35 (IST): Stuart Binny is the next man in. (RR 167/3, 17 overs)

21.34 (IST): OUT! Ajinkya Rahane's crucial innings (64 off 50 balls) comes to an end. He is bowled by Shahbaz Nadeem (RR 167/3, 16.5 overs)

21.28 (IST): FIFTY for Rahane! A boundary off an outside edge brings up Rahane's 13th IPL fifty and his third of the season. He gets there in 45 balls (RR 151/2, 15.4 overs)

21.19 (IST): SIXES! Sanju Samson is taking Siddarth Kaul apart! First he hits an half-volley for a straight six and then plays an unbelievable flat batted straight six off a short delivery. He moves into the 30s. (RR 141/2, 15 overs)

21.11 (IST): STAT: Cooper's 32 off 16 balls is his highest score in IPL. Here's how it panned out.

21.07 (IST): FOUR! Rahane pierces the field with such pin-point precision! He cuts a short ball from Tiwary to the extra cover fence. Two deep fielders converge, but only to retrieve the ball that went past the boundary line (RR 108/2, 12 overs)

21.05 (IST): 100 up for RR! Samson comes down the track and hits a straight six off Tiwary (RR 103/2, 11.3 overs)

21.03 (IST): Sanju Samson walks out at No.4.

 

21.01 (IST): OUT! Cooper (32 off 16) cameo is over! He attempts another big shot and is caught by Rahul Shukla at extra cover off Duminy (RR 93/2, 10.2 overs)

20.56 (IST): At the halfway stage, Rajasthan have 86/1 on the board. Here's how the Delhi bowlers have fared so far.

20.52 (IST): Cooper is on a rampage here! He gets two back-to-back fours off Tahir and has quickly moved into the 20s (RR 77/1, 9 overs)

20.51 (IST): SIX! Kevon Cooper hits another one off Nadeem in the same area. This time he just manages to beat JP Duminy at long-off (RR 67/1 , 8 overs).

20.45 (IST): SIX! This is why Cooper is out there so early! He smashes Nadeem for a six over mid-off (RR 52/1, 6 overs).

20.44 (IST): West Indian all-rounder Kevon Cooper comes in at No.3!

20.40 (IST): There comes the first wicket! Shahbaz Nadeem has trapped Karun Nair in front of the stumps. Nadeem, bowling round the wicket, tossed it up a bit and Nair played across the line and was rapped on the pads in front of the stumps. He goes for 19 (RR 44/1, 5.3 overs).

20.37 (IST): FOUR! Nair plays another one over cover and gets a boundary (RR 43/0, 5 overs).

20.35 (IST): SIX! Karun Nair smashes a half-volley from Siddarth Kaul for a six over cover. (RR 35/0, 4.2 overs)

20.31 (IST): EDGE! A good delivery from Shukla has resulted in yet another boundary for Rahane. This time, the young batsman reached out to a ball that was moving away from him and a thick outside edge flew past the wicketkeeper to the thirdman fence. Shukla can only manage a wry smile. (RR 27/0, 4 overs)

 

20.28 (IST): Siddarth Kaul makes a disciplined start. Just one run off his first over (RR 20/0, 3 overs)

20.24 (IST): Delhi make an early bowling change: medium pacer Siddarth Kaul replaces JP Duminy in the third over.

20.23 (IST): Glorious! Shukla bowls three dot balls before offering another over-pitched ball to Rahane who plays a lovely drive through covers. (RR 19/0, 2 overs)

20.20 (IST): Not the best start for Rahul Shukla! First he drifts down the leg and concedes four leg-byes off Rahane and the bowls a poor over-pitched delivery which is flicked away through mid-wicket for another four. (RR 15/0 in 1.2 overs)

20.16 (IST): Right-arm slow bowler JP Duminy bowls the first over and concedes seven runs to Rajasthan openers Rahane and Karun Nair (RR 7/0, 1 over).

19.53 (IST): News coming in is that there was a rain threat a little while ago with strong breeze blowing across the stadium. The covers were on as a precaution and have been taken off now. Probably a passing drizzle then. Play is expected to start by 20.15 IST.

19.45 (IST): What is at stake? Rajasthan Royals are third in the points table with 12 points in 10 games. Ahead of them are two of the most prolific sides in this campaign, CSK and KXIP, with 16 points each. Below them are three sides -- KKR, SRH and RCB -- fighting it out for the fourth spot to make the playoffs. One slip and Rajasthan could be part of the scramble. A win will help them maintain their distance from the fight for the last playoff place. As for Delhi Daredevils, they have the chance to spoil multiple parties, starting today.

19.36 (IST): A host of changes in both the line-ups. Rajasthan Royals have brought in Ben Cutting for Shane Watson, who is out with a niggle. Steve Smith leads the side in his absence. Rajasthan also include Sanju Samson and Dhawal Kulkarni. Delhi Daredevils pick Manoj Tiwary, Shahbaz Nadeem and Ross Taylor.

19.35 (IST): Delhi Daredevils win toss, elect to field vs Rajasthan Royals.

 

Delhi Out to Ruin Rajasthan's Party

An out-of-sorts Delhi Daredevils will be aiming to redeem some pride while Rajasthan Royals would look to consolidate their top-four spot in the points table when the two teams clash in an Indian Premier League match, here on Thursday.

After losing all five matches since the tournament returned to India to be at the bottom of the heap, Delhi now can only play the party-poopers for teams that are fighting hard to be in the play-offs contention. Rajasthan are placd third in the table with 12 points but they cannot take their place in the top-four for granted as an interesting battle is on to qualify for the knockouts. (Read more)

Rahul Dravid helped me evolve as a cricketer, says Rajasthan skipper Shane Watson

Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Watson said on Monday, having former India skipper Rahul Dravid as team mentor has helped him develop as a cricketer quickly. "To have Rahul as a mentor is unbelievable. My development is certainly continuing to evolve very quickly because of having him there. For me personally, I am extremely lucky to have him around," Watson told reporters in Bangalore. "It was also an honour to have played with Dravid in the past," he added.  Talking about James Faulkner, who played a blinder of innings last night against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Watson said the Tasmanian is continuing to evolve as a genuine all rounder for Australia. (Read more)

Guru Gary Kirsten disappointed with Dehli's batting and bowling

After a string of poor performances by his team, Delhi Daredevils coach Gary Kirsten on Monday, said lacklustre bowling and inconsistent batting have been hurting them in the tournament. "Our bowling has not been up to the mark and batting has been inconsistent. We need to do something good. In T20 format, we need to do a lot," Kirsten told reporters ahead of Delhi Daredevils IPL match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at Chinnaswamy stadium here on Tuesday. Lying at the bottom of the table, Delhi have won just two of their nine games and coach Kirsten wants his team to make use the conditions well in order to improve.
"We need to make best of the conditions and need to improve a lot. One or two players need to score big runs. We need couple of partnerships to win the game," said the former South African opener.
The critics might have come down heavily on skipper Kevin Pietersen but Kirsten backed the England batsman, saying "KP is an inspirational captain". (Read more)

Form and Standings

'Hosts' Rajasthan Royals have won six and lost four in ten games and occupy the third spot in the points table. They come into the fixture at the back of a loss in their previous outing to Chennai but will be eager to get back to winning ways, in a bid to strengthen their chances to reach the play-off stage. As far as Kevin Pietersen's side are concerned, with two wins in 10 games, their 2014 campaign has ended prematurely. However, they could look to collect as many wins from their remaining games to gain some confidence ahead of the next season and also prove pivotal in the race to the top-four.

Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils: Head-to-Head

Having played 13 games against each other, Rajasthan Royals lead 7-6 against the Delhi Daredevils in head-to-head encounters.