Delhi Capitals won a game out of nowhere which they had no business winning against the Rajasthan Royals, who were cruising at one point, let Mitchell Starc dictate terms in the final over and take the match to the Super Over, before eventually buggering it up.
Delhi Capitals, after a blemish against the Mumbai Indians, stormed their way back to the winning ways in a similar manner in which they lost the previous game – one team dominating the proceedings for 70 per cent of the match, but the other team hangs in there just about and before you know, they have the stronghold over the game. Needing 28 runs off the last three overs with two set batters in the middle and eight wickets in the bag, 9 out of 10 times, the chasing team would fancy their chance of getting over the line, unless you’re facing Mitchell Starc for 12 out of those 18 balls.
Starc, the big-money overseas quick, landed one yorker after another, first to dismiss the half-centurion Nitish Rana in the 18th over, before taking the game to the Super Over when he had just nine runs to defend in the final one. Starc was given the responsibility yet again and even though the Rajasthan Royals were able to get a couple of boundaries away, the Capitals benefited by a couple of run-outs at the end to restrict the visitors to just 11.
Capitals would have taken 12 any day of the week and just took four deliveries to chase those down to move to the top of the table. This was Delhi Capitals’ fourth win in the Super Over, which is the most by any team in the IPL, surpassing the Punjab Kings, who have come out on top in the one-over eliminator on three occasions.
Teams with most wins in Super Over in IPL
4 – Delhi Capitals (2019 vs KKR, 2020 vs KXIP, 2021 vs SRH, 2025 vs RR)
3 – Punjab Kings (2010 vs CSK, 2015 vs RR, 2020 vs MI)
2 – Rajasthan Royals (2009 vs KKR, 2014 vs KKR)
2 – Mumbai Indians (2017 vs GL, 2019 vs SRH)
2 – Royal Challengers Bengaluru (2013 vs DD, 2020 vs MI)
Earlier, the Capitals scored 77 runs off their final five overs after a slow repair job by KL Rahul and Abishek Porel. On the final ball of the innings, Tristan Stubbs was dropped by Maheesh Theekshana and the batter took a single. By how much margin did the Royals fall short?
The Capitals now have 10 points in six matches and will face the Gujarat Titans, who are breathing down their neck in the top half of the table, in an away game under the Ahmedabad Sun on Saturday.