Comments following DC’s narrow 12-run loss against RR

By Ashok Dhamija

The JSW and GMR co-owned franchise Delhi Capitals suffered their second consecutive loss in the IPL 2024 against maiden champions Rajasthan Royals by 12 runs at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Thursday. The home side powered by Riyan Parag late blitzkrieg in the death over including 25 runs (4, 4, 6 , 4 , 6, 1) of the final over bowled by DC’s experienced pacer Anrich Nortje put up a competitive score of 185 for 5 in their 20 overs, after being reduced to 36 for 3 inside eight overs at one stage. Later top bowling performance by veteran pacer

Sandeep Sharma (0/36) and Avesh Khan (1/29) in the death overs after Yuzvendra Chahal and Nandre Burger's crucial strikes early restricted the Delhi Capitals to 173 for 5. This came in following David Warner’s 34- ball 49 and Tristan Stubbs unbeaten 44 off 23 balls in vain.  

Reflecting on the performance, Delhi Capitals' Bowling Coach James Hopes said, "I won't say too much bad about the bowlers. They just tried to execute. It was a good first half with the ball but got away from us a little bit in the last five overs (62 runs and one wicket). It's the first time that Nortje (54 wickets in 41 IPL games at an average of 24.59) has been at this level in a while. He had a fair time out of the game, but if you look at all the numbers, he is one of the premier death bowlers in the game. We trust that he is going to keep getting better."

He further highlighted, "With the bat, we started really well, we were in front of the game, and then fell away a little bit in the middle (97 for 2 to 122 for 5 in the space of 4.2 overs). They bowled 10 overs of death bowling pretty much at us, and executed it well (17 runs needed in the final over and Avesh Avesh bowled a boundary-less over)." 

When asked about his early assessments and improvement areas for the team, Hopes said, "We need to tidy up what we do at the end of the game. It's one game, I don't even count the first game (against Punjab Kings who successful overhauled the target of 175 with four wickets in hand and as many balls to spare) because we had to take a bowler out to get an extra batter in and then Ishant went down, so I'm not going to judge us too harshly on one game."

"We need to tidy up our middle overs batting too. We tend to get stuck a little bit in phases there. We know the fix for that is Rishabh Pant (28 off 23 balls). He has played two games after a long layoff and I think you're going to see some pretty special things from him in the next few weeks," he concluded.

The Delhi Capitals will take on five time champions Chennai Super Kings in their next game at the ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.  Rajasthan Royals who won their second consecutive games in a row in familiar conditions next take on the formidable Mumbai Indians in the first away game of the season at the iconic Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

Brief Scores:

Rajasthan Royals - 185/5 (Riyan Parag 84* (45b: 7x4s, 6x6s), Ravichandran Ashwin 29 (19b: 3x6s), Dhruv Jurel 20 (12b: 3x4s); Khaleel Ahmed 1/24, Axar Patel 1/21, Kuldeep Yadav 1/41, Anrich Nortje 1/48, Mukesh Kumar 1/49) beat Delhi Capitals - 173/5 (David Warner 49 (34b: 5x4s, 3x6s), Tristan Stubbs 44* (23b: 2x4s, 3x6s), Rishabh Pant 28 (26b: 2x4s, 1x6); Yuzvendra Chahal 2/19, Nandre Burger 2/29, Avesh Khan 1/29) by 12 runs. Player of the Match: Riyan Parag (Rajasthan Royals)

Photo above: Player of the Match Riyan Parag's scored power packed unbeaten 84 following his crucial 54 runs partnership with all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin earlier that helped RR set DC a target of 186 runs (Photo courtesy IPL)