Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to Super Over finish in DC vs RR IPL 2025 match ft. Ian BishopÂ
The Delhi Capitals (DC) got away as winners by the barest margin against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the recent 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday, April 16. Left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc emerged as saviour with his heroics in the death overs to see his side through as RR stumbled from a winning position.
DC, put into bat by Sanju Samson, overcame a faulty start with a massive surge in the latter part of the innings. Important cameos and some poor death bowling by RR got them to a very healthy total of 188.
RR in reply, made a strong start in the run chase through Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson. The skipper, however, had to walk off the field due to an apparent injury to his rib. They lost a bit of momentum after Riyan Parag struggled at No.3. Nitish Rana kept RR alive with his fluent fifty, but he and Shimron Hetmyer could not get them over the line.
On that note, let us take a look at the top 5 expert reactions to the Super Over finish in the DC vs RR IPL 2025 match.
#1 Ian Bishop
The former West Indies pacer lauded Mitchell Starc for his heroics in the final over of the innings as well as the super over. The left-arm pacer had landed the yorkers to perfection, making the RR batters' lives quite difficult. He also noted how Starc made the art of hitting yorkers look quite easy.
"Those of us, who sort of look at the game in a bigger picture, talk about how difficult it is. The guy sitting at his home in the living room is saying, "Bowl 6 yorkers, bowl 12 yorkers,", it is not that easy to bowl. So, what we saw was the best of Mitchell Starc," Bishop said on ESPN Cricinfo.
#2 Aakash Chopra
The former Indian cricketer credited the revocation of the saliva ban for the first Super Over in the IPL since the 2021 campaign. Starc came into play by getting the ball to reverse, and tailing back into the batter. Struggling to get it away, RR failed to deal with both his overs in the dying moments of the match.
"The Super Over happened because the ball reverse swung. Why did the ball reverse swing? It's because of the rule made this year to remove the saliva ban. As soon as you remove the saliva ban, suddenly, the ball starts reverse swinging. Of course, dew shouldn't be there, or else nothing would happen," Chopra said (1:40).
He nailed yorkers one after the other. He changed the match that Rajasthan should have won easily. The match went to the Super Over, and he bowled the Super Over as well, and that was the game. One rule that changed the game," he added.
#3 Pommie Mbangwa
The former cricketer noted how DC were able to make amends for their botched run chase against the Mumbai Indians (MI) that ended their unbeaten run in the tournament. He also noted how Starc was able to make the most of the reverse swing to help his side snatch a win from the jaws of defeat.
"If you go back, there was a game that they should have won, and they managed to somehow contrive to lose it against MI at home. This time around, big fast bowler, Mitchell Starc, to defend nine runs off the final over, in the original game I'll call it, was absolutely fantastic. It's not by fluke, it is by pure skill of nailing down those yorkers. I'm also loving the fact that the ball is reversing," Mbangwa said on Cricbuzz.
#4 Cheteshwar Pujara
The veteran Indian batter noted how RR made a massive mistake by not including Nitish Rana in their super over plans. The visitors went with their designated finisher, Shimron Hetmyer, and Riyan Parag to face Starc in the super-over. Yashasvi Jaiswal came in as the next batter. Nitish Rana, who was the top-scorer, and looked well-settled during the run chase, was not considered.
"I think Nitish should have been there in those three. But I don't know whether he should have started. I would want Jaiswal to start because of the way he bats against Mitchell Starc - his record [against Starc] has been phenomenal across formats. I know it was the Super Over and Starc was just trying to execute his yorkers, but there's a psychological advantage. If Yashasvi had faced a few balls, then Starc would have been under some pressure," Pujara said on ESPN Cricinfo.
#5 Krishnamachari Srikkanth
The former India opener lambasted RR for throwing the game against DC by botching up the tactics during the super over. He advocated that Jaiswal, who dominated Starc with three successive boundaries during the run chase, should have faced him in the super over.
"Such terrible decisions by RR, first off super over combination was wrong, you have A player who was dangerous against Starc and you sent two batters who were struggling, it was literally a walk over for Dc! Anyhow one thing is certain CATCHES WIN MATCHES!" the former opener posted on X.