Delhi Capitals hosted Rajasthan Royals in the 53rd match of IPL 2019 at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium on Saturday (May 4).

Winning the toss, Rajasthan Royals captain Ajinkya Rahane opted to bat first. Ishant Sharma (3/38) got the home team off to a perfect start, claiming the wickets of openers Rahane (2) and Liam Livingstone (14) in successive overs. Sanju Samson (5) was run out after a mix-up with his partner Mahipal Lomror (8), who became Ishant’s third victim.

Amit Mishra (3/17) then came up with a killer blow, taking two wickets in consecutive balls to reduce RR to 57/6. Shreyas Gopal (12) and Stuart Binny (0) got out to him in successive deliveries while Krishnappa Gowtham was his third scalp. The 17-year-old Riyan Parag fought the lone battle for RR and become the youngest batsman to score a fifty in IPL history. Parag finished with 50 off 49 balls as RR eventually posted a paltry 115/9 in 20 overs.

In the chase, DC got off to a decent start before Ish Sodhi removed both the openers – Shikhar Dhawan (16) and Prithvi Shaw (8) – in successive deliveries. Afterwards, captain Shreyas Iyer and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant added 33 runs to put Delhi in a strong position. The DC skipper failed to make the most of his good start as Shreyas Gopal got rid of him on 19. Sodhi dismissed Colin Ingram (12) early to reduce the hosts to 83/4.

Needing 32 off 38 balls, Sherfane Rutherford joined Pant at the crease. The duo put on 23 runs in rather quick time before Rutherford threw his wicket away in the 16th over. Subsequently, Pant (53* off 38 balls) in the company of Akshar Patel (1*) completed the formalities and guided Delhi Capitals over the line with 5 wickets and 23 balls to spare.

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