RR vs DC Highlights, IPL 2020 Match Today: Delhi Capitals beat Rajasthan Royals by 46 runs

The Delhi Capitals have dislodged the Mumbai Indians to take the No.1 spot in the IPL 2020 points table after their comprehensive victory against Rajasthan Royals.

Kagiso Rabada gets the last wicket, his third of the night. The Delhi Capitals have bowled out Rajasthan Royals for 138 to win the match by 46 runs.

BOWLED! Rahul Tewatia has been cleaned up Kagiso Rabada. Can he get another one and close out the match ? He sure looks like it. 5 balls remaining in the match.

Kagiso Rabada did a fantastic job to get to the ball but couldn’t quite hold on to the catch and what’s worse? It trickles away for a boundary. It was a hard one to be fair. Rahul Tewatia will take the runs gleefully.

That’s some clean ball striking from Rahul Tewatia. It was a length ball from Patel and Tewatia just lofted it over point for a six, great timing there. Tewatia is waging a lone battle.

WOW! Shimron Hetmyer has to be the Man of the Match today. He scored with the bat and now he has take two outstanding catches. It was straight out of the middle of the bat from Gopal, Hetmyer at deep cover judged it well and took a brilliant low catch. The third umpire watched it closely and decided that the catch was clean. RR 121/8

Full toss from Nortje and Tewatia swings it hard to deposit it over deep mdi-wicket for a six and then follows it up with nice dap past third man for a four.

The big shots are not coming, the Capitals have been brilliant in the field and Harshal Patel bowls another tidy over. RR now need 78 runs to win off 4 overs. Can Rahul Tewatia do it again? Can he do the unthinkable?

The Rajasthan Royals are falling apart like a house of cards. Kagiso Rabada has dismissed Jofra Archer now. He didn’t get all of it and was caught at long-off. The catching has been brilliant for the Capitals tonight.

Kagiso Rabada had overstepped so it was a free hit for the Royals and Rahul Tewatia took full advantage of it. He carved that full toss away through the covers for a boundary.

One would have to say this game is beyond the Royals’ reach now. They need 94 runs off 6 overs with only 4 wickets in hand. But you never know. Rahul Tewatia and Jofra Archer are in the middle and both of them can hit it big.

Brilliant catch by Kagiso Rabada. He misjudged it by going towards his right the first time but made up well by diving for that catch. Axar Patel has struck, Andrew Tye has to go and Rajasthan Royals have now lost their sixth wicket for only 90 on the board.

BOWLED! Off the pads and on to the stumps. Marcus Stoinis strikes, Yashashi Jaiswal has to go, he won’t be able to turn it around like Tewatia the other night. Royals are losing the way, they have lost half their side now for 82.

OUT! As soft as you can get. It was the big off-spinner from Ashwin. Lomror didn’t read it, went for the flick shot by closing his batface early and got a leading edge only to the cover fielder. RR: 76/4

No it won’t be the big over that RR were looking for. In fact, Stoinis has come back strong to give Royals a body blow by picking up the wicket of Sanju Samson, another low score for the young man.

That is HUGGGEEEEEE! Yashasvi Jaiswal shows exactly what he can do. He cleared his front foot and gave it a full mighty swing. It lands deep into the stands. Is this the over that Royals need? Stoinis sure will hope it isn’t.

Axar Patel follows suit, bowls a tight over to start with. Only six runs from it. We are halfway through the Royals chase and they are 65 for 3, need 120 more runs to win off 60 balls. So two runs a ball now.

High-quality bowling from Anrich Nortje, only three runs from it with one of them being a leg bye. Delhi Capitals have completed taken control of the match as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson struggle to find the boundaries.

Anrich Nortje is in the form of his life. This was not a special delivery from him but the luck seems to be going his way. It was on leg stump, Smith flicked it but hit it straight to the fielder at deep square-leg who takes a good diving catch, the umpires had a good look at it but the catch was clean. RR: 56/2 as the umpires signal for the strategic timeout.

Another tidy over. This time from Harshal Patel, only six runs from it. The required rate for the Royals has now climbed over 10 runs an over. RR: 56/1 after 8 over.

A boundary and four singles in R Ashwin’s over. He has been brilliant tonight. The required rate is climbing for Royals. Young Yashsavi Jaiswal needs to get a move on

Harshal Patel ends well after conceding a six. This has been a good powerplay for Delhi Capitals. They haven’t allowed Royals to get off to a flier and they are at 41 for 1 after 6 overs.

Yashasvi Jaiswal breaks the shackles, that was straight out of the middle of the bat. Harshal Patel pitched it short, Jaiswal was quick to transfer his weight and smack it over deep mid-wicket for his first six. That should get the young man going.

Another high quality over Ravi Ashwin. He is just an artist with the ball. So so good in the powerplay and also in the middle, only 3 runs from it. This ain’t the Sharjah we know do we? DC have started really well. RR 33/1 after 5 overs.

Just a flick of the wrists and away she goes for a six. Rabada though the fine-leg fielder had a chance. Well to be honest he did but it just sailed over his head, brilliant shot from Steve Smith. RR: 30/1 after 4 overs.

“One way or the other,” says Sunil Gavaskar in the commentary. And ain’t he right? Ashwin has got Jos Butler’s wicket but what a catch from Shikhar Dhawan at square-leg, he did not do much with the bat but he has already contributed in the field. That ball was moving away from him but Dhawan judged it to perfection and took a sharp catch.

Anrich Nrotje gave real hard time young Yashasvi Jaiswal there. Two balls went past his outside edge and he had to duck for cover to one bouncer. Only 3 runs from it. Royals: 13/0 after 2 overs.

FOUR! Nicely played, into the longer ground, away from the fielder - good start from Buttler. First boundary of the chase from Rajasthan.

Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal open for Rajasthan Royals. Kagiso Rabada open for Delhi Capitals. Here we go!

That’s the end of the Delhi Capitals innings, they have managed 184 for 8 after being sent in to bat first by Rajasthan Royals. We have to say, it’s slightly below-par at this ground in Sharjah.

Two dots, a single and then a wicket. What a performance this has been from Jofra Archer. Harshal Patel went for the big heave but didn’t get any power or timing and was holed out in the deep mid-wicket. That’s the third wicket for Archer tonight.

Edged and taken! Axar Patel’s cameo ends. He has to go for 17. It was a wide one from Tye, Axar tried desperately to make contact but got only and outside edge and Buttler made no mistake. Some consolation for Tye at the end of his spell. DC 181/7 with 1 over to go.

A beamer that went over Axar Patel’s head for a boundary followed by a straight six. Just the over Delhi Capitals needed and 11 runs come from just 1 delivery.

Right out of the middle and away she goes. Brilliant shot from Axar Patel. Tye went full, Axar made room and smacked it straight back past the bowler for a boundary. They need two big overs to end the innings now DC.

FOUR! Harshal Patel did very well to dug that one out and hit it over extra cover for a boundary. It was a fuller length delivery from Archer, he missed the yorker length just by a whisker and it was enough for Patel to get underneath it. DC 159 for 6 with 2 overs to go.

Shimron Hetmyer tries to go for a big six, but gets caught in the deep. Karthik Tyagi strikes.DC 149/6

- Marcus Stoinis played a cameo but Rahul Tewatia got him out

- RR got on top of DC

- Shimron Hetmyer begins his show

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That’s the third six Marcus Stoinis has hit off Shreyas Gopal tonight. This one was well tossed up and Stoinis just times it well enough, so much so that it lands over the extra cover boundary.

4 runs from Rahul Tewatia’s first over. The umpire has signalled for the first strategic timeout. The Delhi Capitals have made their way 70 for 3 at the end of 8 overs.

Steve Smith has thrown the ball to Rahul Tewatia. Gopal clearly looked off colour in his first over, it will be interesting to see how Tewatia goes against Stoinis and Pant.

Stoinis picked the length up very early on both occasion. Shreyas Gopal was guilty of dropping it short and he was whacked away for successive sixes on the same mid-wicket region. That’s not good bowling from Gopal.

Yashasvi Jaiswal has already had a major impact in this match. He took a sharp catch to dismiss to Shikhar Dhawan early and now has pulled off a direct hit to send back Delhi Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer. DC 50/3

CAUGHT AND BOWLED! Archer has the last laugh and this is a super, super catch from the speedster. Shaw will be disappointed with that as he was looking good and he needed to make use of the opportunity. He got dropped earlier but not this time. Short ball from Archer, Shaw looks to pull but gets a top edge and it goes way up in the air towards square leg. Archer calls for it and then tumbles to take a very good catch. Rajasthan have taken two in the Powerplay. Rishabh Pant is the next man in.

Just one boundary but the rest pretty good from Kartik Tyagi. He got the ball to bounce and Iyer too gave him the due respect.

Prithvi Shaw has hit the first six of the match. It was a length delivery and Shaw slammed it over the top of the bowler’s head. That was a difficult shot to play but Shaw made it look easy. An expensive over from Aaron. DC: 31/1

A hat-trick of fours. What a start by Shreyas Iyer. He is in the form of his life. The last time he batted here, he slammed it to all parts and he has pretty much started in the similar fashion.

Straight to mid-wicket. Shikhar Dhawan’s torrid time in the IPL continues. Really a nothing shot from the left-hander. It was on the pads, was there to be hit but Dhawan flicks it straight to Jaiswal, who makes no mistake. DC 13/1

NICE! Rises with the bounce of the ball and strokes through the covers for a boundary. Prithvi Shaw has straightaway put Jofra Archer under some pressure, nothing wrong with the delivery, just pure class from Shaw.

A trademark Dhawan flick shot to end the first over with a boundary. It was a good one from Varun Aaron but he wouldn’t like the way it ended. Delhi Capitals 7/0 after the first over.

The umpires followed by the Rajasthan Royals players make their way into the centre. Smith had a lot to say in the huddle. They would sure be discussing how to dislodge this opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw of Delhi Capitals.

Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw will have their task cut out against Jofra Archer, Kartik Tyagi and Varun Aaron. Royals have a new pace attack and they would hope they can put the brakes on the strong DC top-order.

Looks a good surface and we want to chase it down. We are confident about our set-up and we need to get off a better start with the bat: Rajasthan Royals skipper Steve Smith at the toss.

I guess there could be little bit of turn and anything can happen. Everyone is looking forward to cementing their place and all the players have great potential to win games and I’m really proud of my team: Delhi Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer at toss.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler(w), Steven Smith(c), Sanju Samson, Mahipal Lomror, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Andrew Tye, Shreyas Gopal, Kartik Tyagi, Varun Aaron

Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje

Andrew Tye was handed his Royals debut, he came in place of Tom Curran while Varun Aaron replaced Ankit Rajpoot.

Rajasthan Royals captain Steve Smith wins the toss and opts to bowl first against Delhi Capitals in Sharjah.

Australia pacer Andrew Tye was handed over the cap just before the toss by Jofra Archer, that means he is set to make his debut today against Delhi Capitals.

Pitch hasn’t changed much at all. Having played a few games in the last few years in this wicket, it’s still hard. It’s the mindset of the batsmen, they just feel confident here to clear the small boundaries: Kevin Pietersen and Michael Slater with the pitch report in Sharjah.

2: Runs required by Dhawan to complete 1000 runs for DC. He will be the 8th player to do so.

1: Sixes required by Rishabh Pant to hit 100 sixes for DC. He will be the first player to do so.

10: Sixes required by Shreyas Iyer to surpass Virender Sehwag as the 2nd highest six hitter for DC

3: Wickets required by Rabada to become the 2nd highest wicket taker for DC. He is currently on 43 wickets 2 behind Morne Morkel who is on 45 wickets

I liked what Ashwin did last night with Finch. He told him that I’ve warned you but the next time I’m gonna run you out. It’s all about playing the game fair and when the matter comes to inches, then batsmen shouldn’t be allowed to steal that extra inch: Kevin Pietersen in the pre-match show.

Remember what happened last year? Of course you do and we are sure both Buttler and Ashwin know that too. A couple of nights ago Ashwin had given a warning to Aaron Finch instead of Mankading him, which he hadn’t done in case of Buttler last year. But the DC off-spinner later on clarified that it was first and last time he was warning a batsman. It will be interesting to see if Ashwin is given the new ball when Buttler is at the crease today.

Along with KL Rahul, DC’s Rishabh Pant and RR’s Sanju Samson are one of the front-runners to replace MS Dhoni as India’s keeper-batsman in ODIs and T20Is. Samson and Pant will be up against each other today and both will be looking to prove a point and outdo each other.

“Last few games haven’t gone well but we shouldn’t panic. It’s all about peaking at the right time in these long tournaments,” Stokes told Star Sports.

Steve Smith started the IPL on a high with successive fifties but in the last few games he seemed to be in a hurry far too early in his innings. He tried to slog the opposition’s best bowlers and did not quite go in his favour. With Buttler and Yashasvi opening, Smith should allow himself just that extra time before going for the big shots.

For all the fantasy buffs out there. Here is our Predicted XIs for the Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Capitals match today in Sharjah.

DC Predicted XI against RR: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje.

RR Predicted XI against DC: Jos Buttler (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Steven Smith (c), Sanju Samson, Mahipal Lomror, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Tom Curran, Shreyas Gopal, Varun Aaron, Kartik Tyagi.

Delhi Capitals: Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Marcus Stoinis, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje

Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Steve Smith, Sanju Samson, Jofra Archer, Rahul Tewatia.

“Right - now time to get ready for our big game against the @DelhiCapitals in Sharjah. Come on @rajasthanroyals time to get back to our winning ways @rajasthanroyals !!!!!”

Right - now time to get ready for our big game against the @DelhiCapitals in Sharjah. Come on @rajasthanroyals time to get back to our winning ways @rajasthanroyals !!!!!

— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) October 9, 2020

We are exactly 1 hour away from the toss in Sharjah. Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to be the winning captain here. While the team’s batting first have enjoyed more success in this IPL but both RR and DC would like to back themselves for chasing anything down on this ground.

How long will Delhi Capitals keep Ajinkya Rahane in the bench? We can’t even remember when was the last time Rahane sat out for five games in a row in the IPL despite being available for selection. Who will he replace is the question, well, we say Shikhar Dhawan.

Shikhar Dhawan has found it tough to adjust in the trying conditions of the UAE scoring 127 runs in his 5 innings thus far. His average of 25.40 is the worst amongst Delhi batsmen who have faced 100 or more balls this season. His average of 25.40 is his worst in the IPL since 2011.

Ankit Rajpoot has not been in great bowling form in IPL 2020. He has conceded 120 runs in 3 matches that he has played in 11 overs bowled. The Royals should surely look towards an experienced Varun Aaron who is waiting in the wings. Varun Aaron’s record has been impressive against DC in IPL. He has taken 7 wickets against DC which is 2nd best by him against any team.

Anrich Nortje has grown as a bowler as the season has progressed and has been the perfect foil for Rabada. Having started slowly, he has picked up 5 out of his 7 wickets in his last 2 matches.

Nortje’s average and economy have improved from 47 and 7.83 in the first 3 matches to 11 and 6.88 in his last 2 matches. The most impressive has been the improvement in his strike rate which has plummeted from 36 to 9.6.

With the likes of Jaiswal, Lomror and Tewatia batting in the top 6 Nortje will be relishing the thought of bowling against them

Ben Stokes might not be a part of the RR Playing XI for today’s match but he is certain for the next. While his return is sure to add the much-needed balance to the Royals side, former India opener Aakash Chopra believes Stokes is ‘no God’ that he will alone sole the problems Royals have had in the IPL so far.

Prithvi Shaw has been providing them the starts, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant have laying the foundations for Marcus Stoinis to launch towards the end. And in the bowling, Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada have exceptional both with the new and old ball while Axar Patel, R Ashwin and even Amit Mishra (who is now ruled out with an injury) have been choking the batsmen in the middle overs.

8, 4, 0 - these are Sanju Samson’s scores in his last three innings after hitting 16 sixes in his first two matches of the IPL. His weakness against the fast short-pitched delivery once again came to the fore in the last couple of games with Brian Lara also highlighting the ‘chink in his armour’. But Samson was never really known for his consistency. Royals have backed him to win matches for them and he has done that every season. There is every chance that he might mesmerise us today with another boundary-laden innings.

While to continue to sing praises of RR’s performance here in Sharjah, it is only fair to shift our focus to the Delhi Capitals and mention that they put on the highest total of this IPL so far against KKR in Sharjah a few nights ago. So if Royals can hit sixes and then DC can sure match them.

Based on current form, it has to be Delhi Capitals. They just look a better side. An all Indian super power top-order, an experienced spin bowling attack and two tearaway quicks - they have all bases covered. But then comes the Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler and Steve Smith factor. These three can make a mockery of any bowling attack. And for the nth time, I’m repeating this, WE ARE PLAYING IN SHARJAH today.

Ben Stokes arrived in UAE last Sunday so his six-day mandatory quarantine period will be completed today. That means, he won’t be available for selection today. Rajasthan Royals can only include Ben Stokes in their playing from their next IPL game which is on Sunday.

Sharjah is a bowler’s graveyard and a six-hitters paradise but if you are a Rajasthan Royals fan then you would want to pack this ground and take it wherever you go. They chased down a record total against KXIP here, won both there matches with Samson and Smith scoring sparkling fifties and as soon as they went to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, nothing seemed to work. Well, they are back at Sharjah today against DC.

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Capitals match no. 23 of the Indian Premier League. We are back at the batsman’s paradise Sharjah Cricket Ground. I’m Aritra Mukherjee and hopefully, together we all will witness a good contest today.