RR vs DC | Player Ratings - Ajinkya Rahane century of no value as Rajasthan Royals lose to Delhi Capitals in Jaipur run-fest
Ajinkya Rahane scored his first IPL century in 7 years to help Royals post a challenging total of 191, but their bowlers’ failure resulted in the team losing to Delhi Capitals by 6 wickets. Dhawal Kulkarni and Jaydev Unadkat were the major culprits in the loss and should be asked tough questions.
Ajinkya Rahane (9/10): Apart from the 70-run innings against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Ajinkya Rahane didn’t play any innings of substance in the tournament so far. After being sacked as the skipper of the team, he batted with a lot of freedom on his way to 63-ball 105 in this innings. He picked up the pace at the right time and when Steve Smith was new to the crease, he donned the attacking role to smash Axar Patel to smithereens. An extra point for that once-in-a-life-phenomenon Rahane scoop. How often will we see that in our life?
Sanju Samson (1/10): When a batsman just dabs a delivery towards short mid-wicket and the bowler is quickly moving across in his followthrough, it is always advisable for the non-striker to be not too quirky. If that happens to be only the second over, then the mistake is unpardonable. Sanju Samson has only himself to blame as he crossed past the half-way with the slightest of a call from Rahane and didn’t pay heed to the actual position of the ball and was dismissed for a Diamond Duck. It was, in two words, absolutely unnecessary.
Steven Smith (7/10): For the second consecutive time in the tournament, the RR captain looked in supreme touch, guiding the ball on both sides of the wicket, and eventually managed to score a half-century as well. This became possible due to the indiscipline bowling display by Delhi bowlers and Smith’s determination to score on each delivery. His 50 runs was the result of a brilliant approach but I am afraid that I can’t say the same thing about his dismissal today.
Ben Stokes (2/10): The English all-rounder has been an absolute ne'er-do-well for the Royals this season and apart from that fine catch against Chennai Super Kings, it is difficult to imagine a single important endeavour which has helped his team this season. Tonight, with the Delhi bowlers struggling to find the right grip, Stokes didn’t look like he wanted to hang in there. A four and few singles later, he was back in the hut like a clueless wanderer.
Ashton Turner (0/10): This is his fifth consecutive ducks in T20s, among them, four are golden ducks, and all three in the IPL have been accounted as golden ducks too. Those, who have watched his Mohali innings against India, may not believe it but this is the harsh reality of life. The way he was dismissed meant I would give him as much as he contributed to his team’s score tonight.
Stuart Binny (6/10): There you go. For the third consecutive time in the tournament, Stuart Binny has hardly disappointed anyone. Did you ever think that you would listen to this in your life? Well, after scoring a 13-ball 19, Binny gave away only three runs in the only over he bowled to cap off a day that would give him a sound sleep for sure.
Riyan Parag (5/10): The 17-year-old, who scored 43 runs in the last game, could face only three deliveries tonight and after hitting a four, he was dismissed on the last ball of the 20th over. There was hardly anything more he could do and the youngster wouldn’t fuss himself thinking so much about it. Parag also managed to dismiss Shreyas Iyer to give his much-famed bowling colleagues a crack at the middle-order.
Shreyas Gopal (5/10): After showing a lot of promise last year, Shreyas Gopal is delivering like a pro this season. Shikhar Dhawan smashed him left, right, centre in the very first over, but Gopal stuck to his guns and outfoxed him when he saw the southpaw dance down the track. He fired the ball well wide outside off to beat him and Samson did the rest. However, his bad economy rate - he gave away 47 runs in four overs - took the shine away from his dismissal.
Jofra Archer (4.5/10): The only saviour for Rajasthan Royals this season as far as bowling is concerned also had a bad day. That was probably because of the fact that Archer had set up such a lofty reputation that he couldn’t go down any further. Holding him back also resulted in his effect dying down in front of Rishabh Pant carnage and that was something Steve Smith would be answerable for.
Jaydev Unadkat (1/10): The game is actually not over till the opponent batsmen have some fun against Jaydev Unadkat. The most expensive Indian pacer in the tournament has been so lackadaisical in the tournament that it’s been a few days that he was not in the regular Instagram memes. Tonight was another validation of those memes as he conceded 36 runs in 3.2 overs to be the major villain of the night.
Dhawal Kulkarni (2/10): Like Shardul Thakur yesterday, Dhawal Kulkarni was responsible for gifting Delhi Capitals freebies inside the powerplay and Shikhar Dhawan was happy to have them as gifts. Absolutely disastrous bowling display by the Mumbaikar and there was no sense of lengths whatsoever.
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