DC vs RR | Porel and Axar’s finesse and Starc’s mastery seal Delhi win in a Super Over classic

Debayan Sinha

ByDebayan Sinha,SportsCafe Editor

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Delhi Capitals beat Rajasthan Royals in a thrilling super over contest. Batting first, Delhi accumulated 188/5 and rode on the back of Abishek Porel’s 49 off 37 while Mitchell Starc’s clinical last over took the match to super over with Tristan Stubbs and KL Rahul sealed DC’s fate in the super over.

‌Fired up by Abishek Porel’s explosive start, Delhi Capitals launched into attack mode after being put in to bat. The Bengal wicketkeeper-batter hammered 23 runs off Tushar Deshpande’s second over and powered the score to 33/0 in just two overs. But Jake Fraser-McGurk’s poor run continued as Jofra Archer dismissed him in the third over. Karun Nair, fresh off a strong outing in the last game, fell to a run-out in the fourth over and walked back for a bronze duck. With KL Rahul joining Porel at the crease, Delhi reached 46/2 by the end of the powerplay. After the early setbacks, the pair steadied the innings and pushed the total to 76/2 at the halfway stage.  As the pair looked solid, Archer struck again in the 13th over and dismissed Rahul for 38 off 32. Moments later, Porel was out as Rajasthan tightened their grip on Delhi's batting with precise bowling. Delhi stood at 106/4 after 14 overs. In the death overs, skipper Axar Patel shifted gears and smashed 34 off 14. His innings ended when Maheesh Theekshana removed him in the 17th over. With Tristan Stubbs adding 34 off 18 and a flurry of extras from Sandeep Sharma in the final over, Delhi finished with 188/5 after 20 overs.

 

In response, Rajasthan openers Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal got off to a strong start, putting up 50/0 in five overs. However, Samson suffered a side strain in the sixth over and had to retire hurt. The setback deepened when Riyan Parag, who came in next, failed to make an impact and was dismissed by Axar Patel in the ninth over. With Jaiswal and Nitish Rana at the crease, Rajasthan reached 94/1 at the halfway mark. Shortly after, Jaiswal brought up his third half-century of the season in 34 balls and continued to anchor the innings. But Delhi finally broke through when Kuldeep Yadav removed Jaiswal for 51 off 37 in the 14th over. With 73 runs needed from the final six overs, Rajasthan looked to Rana and newcomer Dhruv Jurel for a late push. Additionally, Rana switched gears and smoked 34 off 21 and took the scorecard to 132/2 in 15 overs. The match was set for a thriller as Rajasthan needed 44 runs in the last four overs, with Rana looking solid at the crease. Thereafter, the southpaw scored a 26-ball half-century and paved the way for Rajasthan to a win. But Starc’s superb yorker changed the game’s momentum as he scalped the big wicket of Rana in the 18th over. With Shimron Hetmyer at the crease, Rajasthan needed 23 runs from the final 12 deliveries. Jurel’s six in the 19th over brought the equation down to 10 off seven balls. All eyes turned to the final over, with Rajasthan needing nine runs and Mitchell Starc taking the ball. The first three deliveries went for just four runs, leaving the visitors needing five off the last three. As tension gripped a packed Kotla, the match edged towards a tie, leading to a super over. In the end, Rajasthan finished at 188/4 in 20 overs, leading to the first Super Over of this IPL season. 

 

Starc built on his superb spell and bowled a yorker with the first ball. Hetmyer then struck a boundary with the next delivery and provided Rajasthan with brief respite. Parag followed with a four on the third ball and took the total to 9/0 after four balls. When the no‑ball siren rang Starc had to bowl again. Next Parag and Jaiswal were run out off successive deliveries and Rajasthan reached just 11/2 after five balls. Rahul and Stubbs finished the match with two balls to spare and Delhi Capitals won the contest.

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