In a closely contested Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 encounter, Delhi Capitals (DC) emerged victorious, securing a hard-fought win against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 20 runs in Match 55 on Tuesday (May 7). Despite a valiant effort from Sanju Samson, whose aggressive innings of 86 runs in 46 balls kept RR in the hunt, they were unable to chase down the challenging target set by DC.
Jake Fraser-McGurk and Ishan Porel lay the foundation for DC
DC commenced their innings with a dynamic display of power-hitting, led by Jake Fraser-McGurk, who set the tone with a blazing half-century. Abhishek Porel complemented his partner’s aggressive approach with a well-compiled innings, anchoring the middle order with calculated strokes. Despite losing wickets at regular intervals, DC managed to post a formidable score of 221/8, courtesy of crucial contributions from Tristan Stubbs and Gulbadin Naib in the latter overs.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s crafty spin
Facing a daunting target of 222 runs, the Rajasthan Royals’ bowling unit faced an uphill task against the Capitals’ formidable batting lineup. Trent Boult and Sandeep Sharma provided early breakthroughs to stem the flow of runs, while Ravichandran Ashwin’s crafty spin yielded three crucial wickets in the middle overs. Despite their efforts, the Royals struggled to contain the Capitals’ aggressive onslaught, conceding a challenging total at the end of the innings.
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Sanju Samson’s heroics keep RR’s hopes alive
In pursuit of 222 runs, RR’s innings got off to a shaky start, losing early wickets to the pace duo of Khaleel Ahmed and Mukesh Kumar. Jos Buttler and Samson attempted to stabilize the innings with determined knocks, but DC’s bowlers continued to apply pressure with disciplined lines and lengths. Despite a valiant effort from Samson, who played a scintillating knock of 86 runs, and contributions from Riyan Parag and Shubham Dubey, RR fell short of their target, managing to reach 201/8 in their allotted 20 overs.
DC’s bowling unit holds nerve despite Samson’s assault
DC’s bowling attack produced a disciplined performance, restricting the Royals’ batting lineup with consistent line and length. Khaleel’s fiery spell yielded crucial breakthroughs, while Mukesh and Kuldeep Yadav provided valuable support with timely wickets. Rasikh Salam‘s impressive spell in the middle overs added further pressure on RR, preventing them from building substantial partnerships.
Here’s how Twitter reacted:
A season to remember for Sanju Samson. Consistency of the highest level 👏
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) May 7, 2024
Well played Sanju Samson. You have my respect pic.twitter.com/9nBGhKtwUp
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) May 7, 2024
Totally injustice for sanju samson. The catch was not clean at all. Feeling sad for sanju samson ..!!#SanjuSamson pic.twitter.com/IDXbLisbyh
— Haroon Mustafa (@CRICFOOTHAROON) May 7, 2024
Kuldeep what a bowler! #DCvRR
— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) May 7, 2024
Talk about firepower!! Incredible knocks by Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abhishek Porel, and Tristan Stubbs to help @DelhiCapitals put up a big total!!
— Robin Aiyuda Uthappa (@robbieuthappa) May 7, 2024
DC DID WHATTTTTTTTTT
— best girl (@awkdipti) May 7, 2024
Mcgurk doing things what cricket twitter expected Prithvi Shaw would do
— arfan (@Im__Arfan) May 7, 2024
More time taken to confirm it’s not wide than they took on that catch decision. This is shamelessness.
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) May 7, 2024
DC win by 20 runs and stay alive in the playoffs race: #cricket #IPL2024 #DCvRR #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/9FWMxKfVPE
— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) May 7, 2024
It’s in his eyes. It always is. That burning desire to not only do well for his team, but push 10 others around him to Never. Give. Up.
It’s in his eyes. It always is.
What a fight, Sanju Samson. 👏 pic.twitter.com/UiiCRsGj64
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) May 7, 2024
Qila Kotla Hat-trick completed with a 𝚁𝙾𝚈𝙰𝙻 win 💙 pic.twitter.com/iMb8AoCH9u
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) May 7, 2024