Delhi Capitals vs Rajasthan Royals - Match 30

Right, that's that from Match 30. What next? Match 31. Yes. Between Bangalore and Punjab. The latter had hammered Kohli's men earlier. And Kohli's men would be eagerly looking to make it even. And the battleground - Sharjah! Mouth-watering, pretty much. Join us on 15th October 2020 at 1800 Local (1400 GMT) for this epic clash. Until then, take care and good night.

For his 2 crucial wickets at critical junctures, Anrich Nortje has been named the Man of the Match. On whether he knew how fast he bowled today, Nortje says that he has no idea, with a smile. Nortje says that he wanted to stick to his strength rather than trying too much. In the end, it paid off, he says. States that the League has been a fine experience so far. Adds that they have excellent coaching support. Says that Deshpande was bowling really well in the nets early on. Nortje says that he is really enjoying the League experience so far. Adds that he would always like to be in the middle in such things rather than sit on the sidelines and watch.

Delhi skipper, Shreyas Iyer is not fit so Dhawan is up for a chat as he also marshalled the troops in the absence of their skipper. He says that Shreyas got hurt on his shoulder. Tells his shoulder is moving but they will know the length of the injury tomorrow. Dhawan tells he is glad that they got this game as at one moment it was very even. Dhawan tells they believed that they had a chance and all of them stayed positive. Adds they were aware that their batting is not that experienced and if they got through the top order then it would be their game. Tells their bowling is experienced and credits Nortje for his effort. On Deshpande, he says he played really well and got them the crucial wicket. Tells it was an important win as they wanted to keep the momentum going on especially after losing the game against Mumbai. 

Stay tuned for the presentation as we will hear from the victorious Delhi skipper and also find out who the Man of the Match is. 

The runaway leading wicket-taker of the tournament and the leader of the mouth-watering Delhi bowling attack, Kagiso Rabada is up for a chat. Starts by saying that he is happy to win the game. Feels that Stokes and Buttler were superb at the start but the change of pace worked for them. Says that he is learning from Nortje and tells that he is really fast. Adds that he shares his experience with him. On his ball that clocked 156 kph, Rabada says that he is really happy for him but is not happy for the one who faces that ball. Tells that they do not think too much about the speed gun while bowling. On Tushar, Rabada says that the young man has a passion for the game and he bowls good speed too. Feels that he can be a good prospect for India in the future.

Steven Smith, Rajasthan's captain, says that they had a partnership at intervals but kept losing wickets. They needed a big partnership towards the end which did not happen, he says. Adds that they bowled well towards the end earlier on. States that Archer has been amazing for Rajasthan while Nortje and Rabada have been exceptional for Delhi. Smith says that they will look on the areas to improve and will work on it. Says that they have a big game in 3 days time and it is important to work on the shortcomings before that.

Earlier in the evening, it was Shreyas Iyer who won the crucial toss and opted to bat. His side did not get off to a good start but a blistering 57 off just 33 balls from Dhawan along with a fighting 53 from the skipper himself took the side to a very competitive total of 161 on a pitch that was not easy to bat on. Jofra Archer was fierce and a treat to watch for Rajasthan as he finished with 3/19 but his efforts were not enough for his side to restrict Delhi to a total which Rajasthan could chase. 

What a bowling performance from Delhi! They look like a champion side and have the feel of a champion side. This looks like the year their trophy drought gets over. This was a game they had no right to win but champions find a way to win such games and Delhi managed to do just that. Defending 161, Delhi did not start well with the ball. Though they picked two wickets inside the Powerplay, they were also taken to the attack. It was Rajasthan's game till the halfway stage of the chase but after that the Delhi bowlers showed what they are made of. Rabada, Nortje, Axar Patel, Ashwin and the debutant Tushar Deshpande. They all changed gears and demolished and strangled the Rajasthan batting. Deshpande and Nortje got 2 while the other three got one. It was just a champion bowling display from the side from the capital! 

Rajasthan have done to themselves what they did to Punjab and Hyderabad. They won those two games when defeat looked inevitable but tonight they have shot themselves and lost a game which they were dominating for most of the game. Chasing 162, Buttler and Stokes got them off to a flier before the former departed. Smith too followed suit but Stokes continued his merry way and was cruising along with Samson. The pair were motoring along with the chase before Stokes departed. What followed was some poor batting. Rajasthan lost wickets in a cluster and though Uthappa found some form it was not good enough. The man with the Midas touch, Rahul Tewatia could not weave his magic and Rajasthan just fell off a cliff. 

They say batting wins you matches but bowling wins you the championship. If that saying holds true then this might as well be Delhi's year. The team from the capital city have turned the game around and roared their way into the top of the table, courtesy a phenomenal bowling display at the death! Rajasthan will be kicking themselves as they looked on course to win but Delhi have done the double over them this season.

Is that a save? Or is it a six? It is a save, excellent effort from Rahane.

Who will bowl the last over? Tushar Deshpande it is.

Who will walk out to bat now? Shreyas Gopal walks out to bat.

Who will walk out to bat now? Jofra Archer it is.

 Ravichandran Ashwin has completed his 4 overs. Anrich Nortje to bowl his last. 3-0-30-1 so far.

Kagiso Rabada is back in the attack. 2-0-17-0 for him.

Axar Patel has completed his 4 overs. Ravichandran Ashwin is back in the attack now. 3-0-15-1 for him.

The second half of the 2020 Indian T20 League is up and running and in Match 30, Delhi will be facing Rajasthan. A win out of nowhere when the chips were down would have instilled confidence in Rajasthan and they would be feeling a lot better about themselves after breaking the 4-match losing streak. However, they should not get carried away as it was yet another dismal show by their bowling and batting and that victory only belonged to a stand between Parag and Tewatia. Massive improvements still needed and let's hope they sort out their issues soon. Delhi, on their part, lost against Mumbai and it was a below-par performance by them. Their bowling is still roaring but inconsistencies have started to creep in their batting. Delhi would like to quickly address that concern and bounce back.

Delhi Capitals Team Squad -Ajinkya Rahane,Prithvi Shaw,Shikhar Dhawan,Shimron Hetmyer,Shreyas Iyer,Axar Patel,Daniel Sams,Keemo Paul,Lalit Yadav,Marcus Stoinis,Alex Carey,Rishabh Pant,Amit Mishra,Anrich Nortje,Avesh Khan,Harshal Patel,Ishant Sharma,Kagiso Rabada,Mohit Sharma,Ravichandran Ashwin,Sandeep Lamichhane,Tushar Deshpande

Rajasthan Royals Team Squad -Aniruddha Joshi,David Miller,Manan Vohra,Riyan Parag,Robin Uthappa,Steven Smith,Yashasvi Jaiswal,Ben Stokes,Mahipal Lomror,Rahul Tewatia,Shashank Singh,Anuj Rawat,Jos Buttler,Sanju Samson,Akash Singh,Andrew Tye,Ankit Rajpoot,Jaydev Unadkat,Jofra Archer,Kartik Tyagi,Mayank Markande,Oshane Thomas,Shreyas Gopal,Tom Curran,Varun Aaron