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Rajasthan Royals (RR) bowlers were off their mark as Delhi Capitals (DC) chased down the target of 226 with seven wickets in hand and five balls to spare. After the defeat, RR batting coach, Vikram Rathour, blamed the bowlers for the loss as he felt 226 was enough for them to defend. He feels not getting a wicket in the powerplay overs when KL Rahul and Pathum Nissanka was one of the main reasons for RR’s loss.
"The bowlers couldn't execute their plans again today. 226 we felt was enough on this surface, they should have been able to defend that.
"When you are defending that kind of total it is important to have a good powerplay. We gave away lots of runs and didn't take any wicket," Rathour said in the post-match press conference.
Unlike DC, RR lost both their openers – Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi – early in the innings. Rathour lauded Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel for the recovery job and setting a platform for a big score before Donovan Ferreira helped them finish on a high.
"We were consistently getting good starts. Both our openers were doing well for us in every match. So, this was the first time that both got out early. So as a team, I think it was important how we came out of that situation and how we played.
"The way Riyan and Jurel batted at that time, the partnership they built, and the way Donovan finished it, it was really good to see," Rathour said.
Parag back-in-form with 90-run knock
Skipper Parag scored 90 runs from 50 balls, his first impactful knock of the season. He hit eight fours and five sixes during his stay at the crease. He shared a 102-run partnership for the third wicket with Jurel who contributed with a 30-ball 42. Later, Ferreira smashed six sixes and two fours in his unbeaten 14-ball 47 to help hosts post 225/6.
Royals’ bowling lineup falters
RR's Nandre Burger remained wicketless and conceded 41 runs from three overs. Jofra Archer went for 46 runs. His only wicket was KL Rahul who scored 40-ball 75. Brijesh Sharma failed to make an impact conceded 35 runs from 3.1 overs. Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi struggled too and conceded 28 runs from two overs. Apart from Tushar Deshpande, no RR bowler conceded at an economy rate of under 11 runs per over.
RR will have plenty of time to work on their bowling lineup and maybe make changes if required. Their next game is on May 9 against Gujarat Titans (GT) at home.
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