Jofra Archer's three-wicket haul in vain for Royals, who should welcome back Ben Stokes for Sunday's clash with Sunrisers
Friday 9 October 2020 21:34, UK
Delhi Capitals returned to the top of the IPL table with a thumping 46-run win over Rajasthan Royals in Sharjah.
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The Capitals posted 184-8 before skittling the seventh-placed Royals for 138 in 19.4 overs to record a fifth win in six games and move two points clear of Mumbai Indians at the summit.
Shimron Hetmyer (45 off 24) and Marcus Stoinis (39 off 30) top-scored for Delhi, before spinners Ravichandran Ashwin (2-22) led a disciplined bowling performance, Kagiso Rabada took three wickets and Hetmyer claimed three catches, including two fine grabs low in the deep.
Royals have now lost four of their six games but could be boosted by the return of Ben Stokes for Sunday's clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The England man has been serving a six-day quarantine period having landed in the UAE after spending time with his family in New Zealand.
Royals' loss on Friday was harsh on Stokes' team-mate Jofra Archer (3-24), who took two wickets in the powerplay and one in a final over which went for just three runs.
Archer had Shikhar Dhawan (5) caught at short midwicket in the second over of Delhi's innings and then pouched Prithvi Shaw (19 off 10) off his own bowling in the fifth as the young opener skied a delivery towards midwicket.
The England quick then capped an excellent display when he had Harshal Patel (16 off 15) caught at deep midwicket off a slower ball late on.
Archer's efforts came in vain, though, with Hetmyer and Stoinis, plus late cameos from Harshal and Axar (17 off 8), pumping up Delhi's total from 79-4 in the 10th over and Royals then faltering in reply.
Jos Buttler (13 off 8) fell in the second over, pulling Ashwin to square leg where Dhawan took an excellent diving catch.
Steve Smith (24 off 17) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (34 off 26) registered starts for Rajasthan before being dismissed by Anrich Nortje and Stoinis respectively, while Sanju Samson (5) failed to reach double figures for the fourth innings in a row when he was caught off Stoinis in the deep.
Rahul Tewatia (38 off 29) - who had earlier claimed 1-20 with his leg-spin - hit some late boundaries for Royals but his team were well beaten.
Delhi's bowling and fielding was excellent, although captain Shreyas Iyer will want to ensure some of the sloppy dismissals they suffered while batting, including the run outs of both himself and Rishabh Pant, are not repeated.
Live coverage of the Dream11 Indian Premier League continues on Saturday with a double header. Watch Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders from 10.50am on Sky Sports Cricket and then Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2.50pm on the same channel.
