IPL 2019, Highlights, RR Vs DC: Rishabh Pant Scripts Delhi's Victory

Rajasthan Royals started off the game in brilliant fashion. Riding on Ajinkya Rahane's century they posted 191 on the board. But Delhi Capitals chased it with four balls to spare and Delhi Capitals now move on top of the points table. Rishabh Pant and Shikhar Dhawan were splendid with the bat today. RR will now have to win all their games from here on to make it to the play-off stage. Catch the IPL 2019 Highlights of Rajasthan Royals Vs Delhi Capitals here:

Rishabh Pant paced his innings perfectly today. He stayed in the middle, punished the wrong balls, rotated the strike and stayed till the end to take Delhi home. A matured innings from the young southpaw. Shikhar Dhawan gave a good start to the chase with his whirlwind 54. RR will be blaming themselves for not having that extra push in their final overs of batting. They perhaps were 10-15 runs short.

Ajinkya Rahane was brilliant for RR. His strokeplay and timing was a spectacle. His unbeaten century wasn't enough for RR to pull off the game. RR were poor in the field and the bowlers strayed down the line on several occasions. RR are still at the 7th spot, with RCB below them at the 8th.

Delhi Capitals have never made it to the finals of an IPL. This season may perhaps be their year. They are cruising on top of the table with 14 points.

(SCHEDULE | POINTS TABLE | 2019 ELECTION SPECIAL)

Brief Scores: Rajasthan Royals 191 for six in 20 overs ( Rahane 105*, Smith 50, Rabada 2/37)

Delhi Capitals 193 for four in 20 overs (Pant 72*, Dhawan 54, Prithvi 42)

Result: Delhi Capitals won by 6 wickets

23:37: Unadkat to bowl the last over. Short ball and Pant smashes it for a six in the deep mid wicket region. DC win by 6 wickets. Pant 72*(35), Ingram 2*(4). DC finish at 193/4 in 19.2 overs.

23:30: Archer to bowl the crucial penultimate over. Ingram is in for DC. Two dot balls to begin the over. Poor fielding by RR. Pant top edges it.It landed in no man's land. There was only a one there. But poor fielding gives them three crucial runs. Pitched up delivery and Pant smashes it over long-on for a six. DC 186/4 after 19 overs. 6 required off the last over.

23:25: Rutherford smashes Kulkarni for a six in the deep mid-wicket region. Rutherford smokes it through the covers for a boundary. Slow bouncer and Rutherford went early through the stroke and the pull doesn't have the intended distance. Lands safely in the hands of Long-off. Rutherford departd for 11(5). DC 175/4 after 18 overs.

23:19: Gopal comes for his last over. A high ball over the waist and Pant gets a boundary in the fine leg region. Free hit and Pant gets a boundary in the long on region. Flighted delivery; Prithvi goes for the big shot and he holes out to Parag at long-on. Prithvi Shaw departs for 42 off 39 balls (4x4,1x6). DC 162/3 after 17 overs. 30 runs required off three overs.

23:15: Archer is back. Angled down leg and Pant smokes it for a six over deep fine leg. 50 for Pant off 26 balls. It is a full toss and it hits the stumps. The lights on the stumps turned on for a moment and the bails have not been dislodged. Lucky Prithvi. DC 151/2 after 16 overs.

23:10: Unadkat continues. Pant again goes down on one knee and pulls it over short fine leg for a boundary. 10 runs off the over. DC 142/2 after 15 overs. Prithvi 41*(34), Pant 43*(24)

23:00: Kulkarni is brought into the attack. Pant goes down on one knee and swivels and smashes it over short fine leg for a boundary. 12 runs off the over. DC 132/2 after 14 overs. Timeout

22:57: Unadkat is back. Prithvi rocks back and pulls it for a boundary. Unadkat bowls on the middle and leg stick, Prithvi smashes it over mid-wicket for a six. DC 120/2 after 13 overs. Prithvi 38*(31), Pant 24*(15)

22:50: Gopal is back. Prithvi comes down and Gopal drops it short. But Prithvi drives it through the covers for a boundary. Pant smokes one over long-on for a maximum. DC 108/2 after 12 overs.

22:46: Parag bowls it short and strays down leg; Pant sweeps it over fine leg for a boundary. Parag bowls another half tracker and Pant pulls it to the deep square leg fence. 12 runs off the over. DC 93/2 after 11 overs.

22:43: Archer is back. Three singles off the over. DC 81/2 after 10 overs.

22:38: Parag continues. Short ball and Iyer pulls and Holes out to Ben Stokes at deep mid-wicket. Iyer departs for4(5). Rishabh Pant is in for DC. DC 78/2 after 9 overs.

22:34: Short ball from Gopal and Dhawan pulls wide of the deep midwicket fielder and it runs into the fence. Dhawan comes down; Gopal spots it, throws it wide off Dhawan and Dawan is stumped. Dawan departs for 54 off 27 balls (8x4,2x6). Shreyas Iyer comes in at No.3. DC 73/1 after 8 overs.

22:29: Riyan Parag is into the attack. Fifty for Dhawan off 25 balls. Half-tracker and Prithvi pulls it to the deep mid-wicket fence. DC 67/0 after 7 overs.

22:22: Kulkarni is back. Short ball and Prithvi goes over the infield and the ball runs into the mid-wicket fence. Short ball again and Prithvi gets a top edge and Ashton Turner drops an easy catch. Dhawan goes across the off stump, takes the low full toss and lifts it to the fine leg for a boundary. Dhawan gets another four in the deep mid wicket region. DC 59/0 after 6 overs. Dhawan 48*(23), Prithvi 11*(13)

22:17: Jofra Archer is introduced by Smith. Length ball and Dhawan smacks it to the mid wicket fence. 8 runs off the over. DC 45/0 after 5 overs.

22:15: Shreyas Gopal into the attack. Shikhar Dhawan is taking the attack to Gopal. Dhawan goes on knees and sweeps it for a six over fine leg. Dhawan comes down the track and chips the ball straight down the ground for a boundary. Dhawan sweeps again and a four at deep square leg. 15 runs off the over. DC 37/0 after 4 overs.

22:10: Jaydev Unadkat into the attack. Dhawan comes down the track and smashes it past the long on fielder for a four. Dhawan has made his intentions clear here. 7 runs off the over. DC 22/0 after 3 overs.

22:06: Dhawal Kulkarni into the attack. Strays down the pads and Dhawan flicks it over deep square leg for a six. Dhawan pulls one to the midwicket boundary. DC 15/0 after 2 overs.

22:02: Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi shaw to open the innings for DC. Binny starts for RR. Quiet over. DC 3/0 after 1 over.

Brief Score: Rajasthan Royals 191/6 in 20 overs ( Rahane 105*, Smith 50, Rabada 2/37)

Target: 192

21:42: Rabada to bowl the last over. Yorker and Binny's middle stump goes for a ride. 149Km/h and right in the blockhole. Binny departs for 19(13).  Riyan Parag is in. Parag gets a boundary in the fine leg region. A 152km/h full toss and Parag's leg stump is rattled. RR finish at 191/6 in 20 overs.  

21:36: Morris is back for his last over.  Binny swings hard and misses a couple of deliveries. Finally manages a boundary in the midwicket region of the last ball. RR 183/4 after 19 overs.

21:32: Rabada is back. Binny gets a top edge that runs down the third man for a boundary. RR 175/4 after 18 overs. Rahane 103*(61), Binny 10*(6)

21:26: Ishant continues. Century for Rahane. Second IPL century for Rahane. Exceptional innings by him. 100 off 58 balls. He played his shots today and set the tone for RR. Slow ball and  Turner pushes his bat and he is caught at covers. Three golden ducks in a row for Turner. He is having a nightmare debut IPL season.  Stuart Binny is in for RR.RR 165/4 after 17 overs. Ishant 4-0-29-1

21:19: Full toss on the pads by Morris. Rahane flicks it in the deep square leg region for a boundary. Full toss and Stokes holes out to Iyer at long on. Stokes departs for 8(8). Ashton Turner walks in. 8 runs of the over. RR 158/3 after 16 overs.

21:10: Ishant is brought back into the attack. Stokes drives it past long-off for a boundary. Beautiful stroke from Rahane. Rahane cracks it through the covers for a four. RR 150/2 after 15 overs. Timeout

21:07: Axar comes in for his last over. Wicket off the first ball. Smith goes for the maximum. Morriss stands tall at long-off and takes a good catch at the edge of the fence. Smith departs 50 off 32 balls (4x8).  Ben Stokes walks in. Just 4 runs off the over. RR 139/2 after 14 overs.

21:03: Morris is back. Rahane goes for the scoop and it is a six. Rahane goes over mid-off and it is another boundary. He moves into the eighties. Smith notches up his fifty. RR 135/1 after 13 overs. Rahane 82*(47), Smith 50*(31)

20:58: Rutherford is into the attack. On the pads and Smith tickles it down fine down the fine leg fence. Short and wide outside off, Smith fetches it and smashes it in the mid-wicket region for another boundary. Three boundaries on the trot. Four at deep backward point. 16 runs of the over. RR 122/1 after 12 overs.

20:53: Mishra is taken apart by Smith. First smashes him over deep mid wicket for a boundary. Follows it up with a late cut that goes in the gap between short third man and point. Four runs. Smith comes down the track. Mishra shortens the length. Smith plays it back to the bowler. Mishra is frustrated and throws the ball back in anger and Pant is hurt. 11 runs off the over. RR 106/1 after 11 overs.

20:46: Axar is back. Rahane comes down the track and plays a beautiful inside out shot that goes over the covers for a four. Paddle sweep and Rahane gets another four. Runs down the fine leg fence. 14 runs off the over. RR 95/1 after 10 overs.

20:42: Mishra continues. Smith goes down the pitch and fetches the ball from outside the off stump and smashes it in the deep mid-wicket region for a boundary. 10 runs off the over. RR 81/1 after 9 overs.

20:36: Chris Morris into the attack. Short ball and Rahane pulls it for a boundary through mid-wicket. Fifty for Rahane. Well played innings by Rahane. Strays down pads, Smith flicks it in the deep square leg region for a boundary. 12 runs off the over. RR 71/1 after 8 overs. Timeout

20:32: Amit Mishra into the attack. 7 runs off the over. RR 59/1 after 7 overs.

20:28: Rabada continues. Rahane is playing exceptional today. Short ball and he stands tall and smashes it straight down the ground for a six. On the pads and Rahane gets a four in the fine leg region. RR 52/1 after 6 overs. Rahane 40*(25), Smith 12*(11)

20:25: Axar continues. Ishant drops a sitter at short fine leg. Rahane survives. Rahane comes down the track and smashes the ball over Axar's head for a maximum. Rahane goes for the sweep and the ball flies over short third man for a four. RR 38/1 after 5 overs.

20:20: Decent overs from Axar Patel and Ishant Sharma. Rahane played a couple of good shots. Steve Smith also smashed Ishant for a four in the long on direction. RR 25/1 after 4 overs.

20:10: Kagiso Rabada into the attack. Sanju Samson is run out. Rahane plays it on the on side, and  Samson runs for it. Rahane send him back. Rabada collects the ball and Samson is short. Samson goes without facing a ball. RR 10/1 after 2 overs

20:04: Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson open the innings for RR. Ishant Sharma to bowl the first over. Quiet over. RR 5/0 after 1 over.

19:47: Here are the Playing XI:

19:37: Delhi Capitals win the toss and opt to bowl. Iyer feels that chasing is the right choice as the majority of teams batting second have won in this ground. Sandeep Lamichhane is out, Chris Morris comes. An unchanged playing XI for RR.

Preview:

Rajasthan Royals will have to win almost every game from here on to keep their chances of making it to the play-offs alive. Their victory against Mumbai Indians will be a big confidence booster for the Smith-led side. RR are in the 7th place in the points table with just three wins. RR will be happy that Smith, Parag and Samson were among runs in their previous match. Their major concern will be the form of Ben Stokes and Ashton Turner with the bat.

RR's bowling heavily depends on Shreyas Gopal and Jofra Archer. Others have leaked a lot of runs as they have been wayward with their line and length. RR will have to be more consistent if they have to progress in the tournament.

On the other Side, DC players are finding their touch. Captain Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw have been amongst runs. Rishabh Pant on his given day can tear any opposition. But he lacks consistency. DC though are in the third spot in the points table will have to get a couple of more wins to assure them of a play-off berth.

DC's strength lies in their bowling attack. Kagiso Rabada, Chris Morris, Keemo Paul, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra and Axar Patel have been exceptional with the ball for Delhi. Iyer will be hoping to win the toss and put RR into bat on a slow RR wicket.