Jaipur: Delhi Daredevils skipper Gautam Gambhir felt that the revised target handed to his side during the rain-hit Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Rajasthan Royals was stiff to chase with just two overs of power play.
Chasing a revised target of 70 runs in six overs via the Duckworth-Lewis Method in a rain-truncated clash on Wednesday, Delhi suffered a 10-run defeat against hosts Rajasthan.
Rajasthan rode their bowlers’ good show coupled with skipper Ajinkya Rahane’s 45.
The IPL returned to the Pink City after 2013 but rain played spoilsport for the major part, forcing D/L method to come into play after the hosts were 153/5 in 17.5 overs when it started drizzling.
Delhi were given a revised target of 71 to chase in six overs but Australian pacer Ben Laughlin (2/20) picked up the wickets of Glenn Maxwell (17) and Vijay Shankar while Jaydev Unadkat (1/24) accounted for Rishabh Pant (20) to never let Delhi come close to winning in harsh circumstances.
For Delhi, left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem returned best figures of 2/34 while New Zealand pacer Trent Boult and India fast bowler Mohammed Shami also picked up a wicket apiece.
“We were very much in the game. It was a beautiful wicket to bat on, then 150-odd for 5 in 18 overs, we thought we could contain them to 170 and it was chaseable, especially with dew coming in later on,” Gambhir said after the match.
“We were very much happy with the first innings. But then in 6 overs, 71 was tough. We had to go from ball one. Obviously with these sort of games, things could go either way. Just 2 overs of Powerplay, it’s very difficult,” the southpaw added.
“If it was a 20-over game, it would’ve been much easier to chase.”
On the other hand, Sanju Samson, who was adjudged Man of the Match for his quick 22-ball 37, expressed pleasure on his team’s first win in the tournament.
“Feels really amazing. We wanted a win badly at our home ground and it feels good to get our first win of the season,” the 23-year-old said.
“I think it’s about the preparation, we had about 4 camps before the IPL and an excellent support staff who give us lot of freedom,” he added.
Delhi will now face three-time champions Mumbai Indians in an away fixture on April 14 while Rajasthan will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bengaluru a day later.
Scores: Rajasthan Royals 153/5 in 17.5 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 45, Sanju Samson 37; Shahbaz Nadeem 2/34) beat Delhi Daredevils 60/4 (Rishabh Pant 20; Ben Laughlin 2/20) by 10 runs via D/L method.
