Delhi Capitals beat Rajasthan Royals by 46 runs to go on top of table

Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi Capitals produced an all-round performance to sweep aside Steve Smith’s Rajasthan Royals by 46 runs in Match 23 of the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Following the win, Delhi have climbed up to the top of the IPL table and are now standing with five wins from six matches, while Rajasthan Royals continue to languish down at the seventh spot with just two victories in hand so far.

Rajasthan Royals won the toss and asked Delhi Capitals to bat first.

Delhi made a poor start to their innings, losing their first three wickets–Prithvi Shaw (19), Shikhar Dhawan (5) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (22)–inside Powerplay.

Subsequently, wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant too failed to click with the bat and departed cheaply for five runs after getting run out.

Marcus Stoinis then smashed a crucial 30-ball 39 runs before Shimron Hetmyer notched up 24-ball 45 runs to help Delhi Capitals post a competitive score of 184 for eight in their stipulated 20 overs.

For Rajasthan Royals, Jofra Archer finished with good figures of three for 24, while Kartik Tyagi, Andrew Tye and Rahul Tewatia all chipped in with a wicket each.

In reply, Kagiso Rabada bagged three wickets, Ravichandran Ashwin and Marcus Stoinis claimed two wickets each and Anrich Nortje, Axar Patel and Harshal Patel also contributed with one wicket each to help Delhi bundle out Rajasthan for 138 runs.

Rahul Tewatia (29-ball 38) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (36-ball 34) were the notable contributors for Rajasthan, while most of their other batsmen fell for a single digit.

Ashwin was declared ‘Man of the Match’ for his figures of two for 22 in his four overs.