Rajasthan power past toothless Delhi in Guwahati

The Delhi Capitals suffered their third consecutive defeat to start IPL 2023 as David Warner’s side succumbed to a chastening 57-run loss against the Rajasthan Royals at the Barsapara stadium in Guwahati. Half-centuries from openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler led the Royals to a commanding total of 199 before Trent Boult picked up two wickets in the first over of the chase to set the tone for a dominating victory for Rajasthan.

Having been put into bat by David Warner at the toss, the Royals dominated the game from ball one as Yashasvi Jaiswal carted Khaleel Ahmed for five fours in the opening over. Jaiswal’s onslaught set the pace for Rajasthan’s innings, with Buttler smashing three fours against Anrich Norjte in the second over to take the Royals to 32-0. No Delhi bowler was spared as Axar Patel conceded 13 runs off his first over in the powerplay, with Rajasthan adding 68 runs in the first six to lay the platform for a big score.

Jaiswal got to his half-century off just 25 deliveries and combined with Buttler to take 17 runs from Kuldeep Yadav’s opening over, helping the Royals score 96 runs at the end of the eighth. The Capitals, though, managed to get some respite as Jaiswal and Sanju Samson fell in quick succession. Promoted to number four, Riyan Parag also struggled to make an impact and was dismissed by Rovman Powell for seven.

However, Jos Buttler ensured that the score kept ticking along, with the Englishman bringing up his half-century with a six and finding regular boundaries at the death to finish with 79 off 51 deliveries. Shimron Hetmyer also played a stunning hand of 39 from 21 deliveries and smashed three sixes in the final two overs to take the Royals to 199 for four in 20 overs.

In reply, Delhi stumbled out of the gate in the chase as Trent Boult started with a double-wicket maiden. Sanju Samson took a terrific one-handed catch to remove Prithvi Shaw after Boult found the outside edge and the left-armer got his next delivery to swing back in and trap Manish Pandey on the pads.

The Delhi chase never recovered from that early blow and the Capitals continued to lose wickets at regular intervals to dent their momentum. Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Rilee Rossouw cheaply in the final over of the powerplay before Boult picked up his third wicket of the innings to end a brief partnership between David Warner and Lalit Yadav. The Australian opener managed to score another half-century for the Capitals but received little support from his teammates as Delhi finished on 140 for nine and succumbed to their third defeat this season.