IPL 2020, RR vs DC: Who won yesterday's match?
The Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the Delhi Capitals (DC) faced off in Match 23 of the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) in Sharjah.
After Steve Smith won the toss and elected to field perhaps with the memory of his team's miraculous chase against the Kings XI Punjab at the same venue in mind, RR speedster Jofra Archer dismissed the DC openers in the powerplay.
Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant couldn't replicate their heroics from their previous game in Sharjah as they both fell victim to embarrassing run-outs. Marcus Stoinis and Shimron Hetmyer played excellent cameos, and they were assisted by Axar Patel and Harshal Patel towards the end of the DC innings.
DC finished on a below-par 184/8, but RR always had an uphill task given the bowling attack that their opponents possess.
The RR chase got off to a poor start, as Jos Buttler was sent back to the hut by his nemesis Ravichandran Ashwin while Steve Smith and Yashasvi Jaiswal struggled with their timing and placement. The RR captain was dismissed by a brilliant catch from Shimron Hetmyer in the deep, and Mahipal Lomror and Sanju Samson didn't trouble the scorers too much.
RR's lower-order batsmen didn't do much either, and the team managed just 138. Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Axar Patel were all excellent with the ball, while Rahul Tewatia top-scored for RR with 38 off 29.
DC comprehensively beat RR by 46 runs in Match 23 of IPL 2020.
IPL 2020, RR vs DC: Who won the Man of the Match award in yesterday's game?
DC had many outstanding performers in this game - Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer and Kagiso Rabada, to name a few. However, the Man of the Match award went to Ravichandran Ashwin, who registered figures of 2/22 in his 4 overs.
The off-spinner picked up the wickets of Jos Buttler and Mahipal Lomror, and he was excellent in the powerplay as well. Ashwin moved a bit gingerly in the field as he only recently recovered from a shoulder injury, but he has been in splendid form with the ball in hand since a poor outing in his first game in Sharjah.