Delhi Capitals thrashed Rajasthan Royals by 8 wickets at the DY Patil Stadium on Wednesday when Mitchell Marsh acted with bat and ball in a brilliant all-round performance. Marsh took 2 for 25 and then scored 89 runs in 62 balls to register a crucial victory for the Capitals.
David Warner (52 not out) also played his part in DC’s win and Srikar joined in a 144-run stand with Mitchell Marsh after losing to Bharat in the first over of the innings.
Delhi Capitals now have 12 points from 12 matches and are now close to Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have 14 points from 12 matches. DC’s win has made the race for the playoffs interesting at this stage.
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Mitchell Marsh, who was out of action for a few days after testing positive for Covid-19, put up his best performance against the Rajasthan Royals. He took 2 for 25 in the first 3 overs and then played a brilliant innings with the help of 5 fours and 7 sixes to take DC to victory.
Mitchell Marsh was involved in a 144-run stand with David Warner as Delhi Capitals chased down 161 with ease.
Rajasthan Royals had Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson and Rassi van der Dussen waiting in the dug-out but decided to send R Ashwin to No. 3 after the early exit of the season’s leading run-scorer Jos Buttler.
R Ashwin didn’t disappoint and hit a 38-ball 50, but one has to wonder why the more explosive Samson didn’t opt to bat for more overs when he was in the really dangerous Delhi Capitals batting line-up. Were pushing for a strong total against the ups.
R Ashwin scored 50 while Padikkal scored 48 as Rajasthan Royals posted 160 for 6 in their 20 overs.
australian fire
Chasing a target of 162 runs, Delhi Capitals had a poor start when Trent Boult dismissed Shrikar Bharat in the second ball of the innings. But Rajasthan Royals had the same success for a short while as Australian pair of Mitchell Marsh and David Warner snatched the game with a strong second-wicket partnership.
Mitchell Marsh struggled in his first match for DC this season, but he has been in form since coming back from his Covid-19 break. Marsh was setting the bat on fire in a crucial run-chase for the Capitals, after taking 2 for 25 with the ball.
While David Warner, one of the highest run-getters this season, was happy to drop the anchor on a tough pitch, Mitchell Marsh attacked the RR bowlers to set DC for their target.
It was not easy to bat on the pitch but Marsh, who won the man of the match in the T20 World Cup final, hurt the Royals by hitting sixes of his own free will. He reached his half-century as DC looked more and more likely to secure his sixth win of the season.
David Warner was not that fluent for much of the tournament, but he stuck and ensured that RR was unable to penetrate deep into a shaky middle-order.
David Warner was also lucky. Jos Buttler dropped a catch before Yuzvendra Chahal hit his stumps but the bails did not move. And Warner used his luck to play a second fiddle for Mitchell Marsh as the two shared 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 resounding victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad, DC suffered a massive defeat over defending champions Chennai Super Kings.
Mitchell Marsh fell for 89 at the hands of Yuzvendra Chahal but Rishabh Pant joined with David Warner to seal the win for Delhi Capitals without any hiccups.
Ashwin’s fifty
R Ashwin has shown his batting prowess for India in Test cricket, but there was not much evidence of his prowess as a T20 batsman before this edition of the IPL. Rajasthan Royals have repeatedly used him down the order and even retired him once in a tactical move, but perhaps no one was prepared for what would happen on Wednesday.
RR lost Orange Cap leader Jos Buttler to Chetan Sakaria for 7 runs and it was time for R Ashwin to join Yashasvi Jaiswal at the crease. On a difficult pitch, Ashwin took time to set his sights, but once he did, there were great shots off his bat. Ashwin’s innings must have taken Delhi Capitals by surprise. Yashasvi Jaiswal could only manage 19 runs in 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 changed his approach after moving from RCB to RR and it showed again on Wednesday.
R Ashwin’s previous best in the IPL was 45 runs four years ago.
Not many teams have used him much as a batsman but Rajasthan Royals have relied on Ashwin’s skills as a powerful all-rounder and he has repaid his trust more than once.
Against DC, Ashwin hit 4 fours and 2 sixes before Mitchell Marsh ended an entertaining innings.
The focus was now on Sanju Samson who was joined by Padikkal midway.
However, Sanju Samson did not last long and he lost to Enrique Nortje. Sunil Gavaskar, who was on air at the time, was not too impressed with Samson’s decision to bat lower down the order and insisted that the captain should have taken more responsibility with the bat.
Enrique Nortje stuck again to deny Padikkal his half-century, bowling him out for 48.