MITCHELL STARC picked up his first five-wicket haul in T20 cricket, while Nitish Rana’s quickfire 81 off 36 balls helped Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals secure wins in the IPL on Sunday.
Starc, the Australian left-arm pacer, returned figures of 5-35 as Delhi bowled out Hyderabad for 163. Delhi chased the target comfortably, winning by seven wickets with four overs to spare, marking their second consecutive victory in the tournament.
In Guwahati, Rajasthan posted 182-9, powered by Rana’s aggressive knock. They then restricted Chennai Super Kings to 176-6, sealing a six-run win — their first victory after two losses.
"Feels good," said Rajasthan’s stand-in captain Riyan Parag. "Took some time, it was two games but felt long. Felt we were 20 short but the bowlers stepped up and executed our collective plans."
Sri Lankan leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga claimed 4-35, making crucial breakthroughs in Chennai’s innings.
Rana, batting left-handed, shared an 82-run partnership for the second wicket with Sanju Samson, laying the foundation for Rajasthan’s total. Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmad ended the stand by dismissing Samson, who played solely as a batsman due to injury.
Rana reached his half-century in 21 balls, hitting 10 fours and five sixes. He was named player of the match. Ravichandran Ashwin later had him stumped to end his innings.
Parag contributed 37 off 28 balls before being bowled by Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana.
Jofra Archer struck in the first over of Chennai’s reply, dismissing Rachin Ravindra for a duck. Hasaranga then controlled the innings with a wicket in each of his four overs, his final scalp being Chennai skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad for 63, which derailed the chase.
‘No ego’ among bowlers
Earlier in Delhi’s second home game in Visakhapatnam, Starc struck early, dismissing Ishan Kishan and Nitish Reddy in one over. He then removed fellow Australian Travis Head for 22, leaving Hyderabad struggling at 37-4 in 4.1 overs.
Aniket Verma, who top-scored with 74, and Heinrich Klaasen built a 77-run stand to stabilise the innings. Kuldeep Yadav picked up 3-22 before Starc wrapped up the Hyderabad innings.
"There's no ego in bowlers these days," said Starc, who was named player of the match. "As a bowler, you've got to think out of the box. You need to do things you wouldn't normally do. It was nice to contribute in the win today, we move forward from here."
Delhi’s chase was led by Faf Du Plessis, who smashed a 27-ball 50. He took on Mohammed Shami, hitting a six and three fours in a 15-run third over, setting the tone for the chase.
Under new captain Axar Patel, Delhi has restructured its squad in pursuit of its first IPL title, with England’s Kevin Pietersen brought in as mentor.
(With inputs from agencies)
