Delhi Capitals defeated Rajasthan Royals by 8 wickets at the DY Patil Stadium on Wednesday after Mitchell Marsh starred with bat and ball in a sterling all-round display. Marsh picked 2 for 25 and then smashed 89 off 62 balls to script a crucial victory for the Capitals.
David Warner (52 not out) also played his part in DC’s victory and was associated in a 144-run partnership with Mitchell Marsh after they had lost Srikar Bharat in the first over of the innings.
Delhi Capitals now have 12 points from 12 matches and are now close on the heels of Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore who have 14 points apiece after 12 games. DC’s convincing victory has made the race for the playoffs interesting at this stage.
IPL 2022: Full Coverage
Mitchell Marsh, who was out of action for a few days after testing positive for Covid-19, put in his best performance against Rajasthan Royals. He first picked 2 for 25 off 3 overs and then played a stunning knock laced with 5 fours and 7 sixes to steer DC to victory.
Mitchell Marsh was involved in a 144-run partnership with David Warner as Delhi Capitals chased down 161 with ease.
Rajasthan Royals had Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson and Rassie van der Dussen waiting in the dug-out but they chose to send R Ashwin at No.3 after the early exit of the season’s leading run-scorer Jos Buttler.
R Ashwin did not disappoint and hit a 38-ball 50 but one would wonder why the more explosive Samson did not choose to bat for more overs when he were really pushing for a strong total against a dangerous Delhi Capitals batting line-up.
R Aswhin top-scored with 50 while Padikkal hit 48 as Rajasthan Royals finished with 160 for 6 off their 20 overs.
AUSSIES FIRE
Delhi Capitals got off to a poor start to their chase of 162 when Trent Boult dismissed Srikar Bharat with the second ball of the innings. But that was all the success Rajasthan Royals would get for a while as the Australian pair of Mitchell Marsh and David Warner took the game away with a strong partnership for the second wicket.
Mitchell Marsh had struggled in his first match for DC this season but he has been in form since he came back from his Covid-19 break. After taking 2 for 25 with the ball, Marsh was on fire with the bat in an important run-chase for the Capitals.
While David Warner, one of the highest run-scorers this season, was happy to drop anchor on a difficult pitch, Mitchell Marsh attacked the RR bowlers to set DC on course for their target.
It was not easy batting on the pitch but Marsh, who won the man-of-the-match in the T20 World Cup final, hurt Royals by hitting sixes at will. He raced away to his half-century as DC looked more and more likely to secure their sixth win of the season.
David Warner was not as fluent as he has been for most of the tournament but he stuck in and ensured RR were unable to penetrate deep into a shaky middle-order.
David Warner was lucky as well. Jos Buttler dropped a catch before a Yuzvendra Chahal delivery hit his stumps but the bails did not dislodge. And Warner rode his luck to play second fiddle to Mitchell Marsh as the two brought up a century partnership.
From 0 for 1, Delhi Capitals had stormed to 105 for 1 at the end of 14 overs.
Delhi Capitals have been plagued by inconsistency this season, winning one and then losing one in a worrying sequence.
After a convincing victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad, DC crashed to a huge defeat over defending champions Chennai Super Kings.
Mitchell Marsh fell to Yuzvendra Chahal for 89 but Rishabh Pant joined David Warner and sealed victory for Delhi Capitals without further hiccups.
ASHWIN HITS FIFTY
R Ashwin has shown his batting prowess for India in Test cricket but there was not much evidence of his skills as a T20 batter before this edition of the IPL. Rajasthan Royals have repeatedly used him up the order and once even retired him out in a tactical move but perhaps nobody was ready for what was to come on Wednesday.
RR lost Orange Cap leader Jos Buttler for 7 to Chetan Sakariya and it was time for R Ashwin to join Yashasvi Jaiswal at the crease. On a tricky pitch, Ashwin took his time to get his eyes in but once he did, there were exquisite shots from his bat. Ashwin’s innings must have left Delhi Capitals perplexed. Yashasvi Jaiswal managed only 19 off 19 balls before falling to Mitchell Marsh.
R Ashwin enjoyed his stint in the middle and was joined by Devdutt Padikkal who was also in an aggressive mood. He has changed his approach after moving to RR from RCB and it showed again on Wednesday.
R Ashwin’s previous best in the IPL was 45, four years ago.
Not many teams have used him much as a batter but Rajasthan Royals have trusted Ashwin’s skills as a potent all-rounder and he has repaid their faith more than once.
Against DC, Ashwin smashed 4 boundaries and 2 sixes before Mitchell Marsh ended an entertaining knock.
The focus was now on Sanju Samson who joined Padikkal in the middle.
However, Sanju Samson did not last long and he fell to Anrich Nortje. Sunil Gavaskar, who was on air at the time, was not very impressed with Samson’s decision to bat lower down the order and insisted the captain should have taken more responsibility with the bat.
Anrich Nortje stuck again to deny Padikkal his half-century, dismissing him for 48.
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