LIVE IPL: Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals: Rajastan Royals register a thumping win over Delhi Daredevils by 7 wickets

Welcome to the Live Coverage of the Pepsi IPL from Feroze Shah Kotla in New Delhi

We are in India's Capital where Delhi will take on Rajasthan tonight

Its a home game for Delhi

HEAD TO HEAD- Played 12 , Rajasthan 6-6 Delhi

So both the teams have won equal number of games till now

News from the centre is that Rajasthan have won the toss and electo to field first

Delhi Daredevils is yet to win a toss in this year's IPL

Teams :

Rajasthan Royals: A. Rahane, K. Nair, S. Samson (wk), S. Watson (c), S. Smith, S. Binny, J. Faulker, D. Kulkarni, R. Bhatia, K. Richardson, P. Tambe

Delhi Daredevils: Quinton de Kock, M. Vijay, J. Duminy, K. Pietersen (c), D. Karthik (wk), M. Jadhav, W. Parnell, S. Nadeem, M. Shami, J Unadkat, R. Sharma 

Both teams have made 1 change- For RR Iqbal Abdullah sits out for D. Kulkarni, while for Delhi, they have swithced in a seamer in Laxmi Shukla for spinner Rahul Sharma

Average first batting score at Kotla is 165

De Kock and Muarli Vijay to open the batting while Stuart Binny will bowl the first over

PLAY !

FOUR, de kock opening the face of the bat and drifting it through the point

Kane Richardson to bowl from other end

FOUR, half volley, offers room, and Vijay gorgeously drives it through the covers

DD 16/0 (2) De Kock 8*- Vijay 8*

Dhawal Kurkarni to bowl now

FOUR, well played from De kock, slower length this time and De kock plays smartly towards square leg, that's 2000 runs for De Kock in T20

Watson into the attack

SIX, little man hits a little six, full on middle, De kock shuffles and times it just over deep midwicket fielder

11 runs from the over, RR have used 4 different bowlers in first 4 overs

Faulker now, make it 5 different bowlers

OUT, he does the trick, wicket off the first ball, full around off, Vijay looks to play down to covers but miscues it and hands it to Watson at short extra cover, gone for 13

KP arrives midst large cheer from the home supporters, he is very popular here in India

Pravin Tambe to bowl the final over of the powerplay

RR using 6 different bowlers in first 6 overs

FOUR, flighted one from Tambe, de Kock smashes past the cover fielder for four

FOUR, back to back for de Kock, this time much quicker from the bowler, de Kock goes back and helps it past the cover fielder

DD 46/1 (6) De Kock 31*- Pietersen 2* Run rate 7.66

KP's batting average against spinners in IPL is 100 (since 2011 IPL)

Bhatia into the attack, he can defintely take wickets here, he's a poacher

DRAMA - RUN OUT APPEAL ! not referred upstairs from the umpire, though replays show that KP was miles out of his crease, lucky escape for KP, Watson having a heated argument with the umpire, this will be noted down by the match officials

Slower one, no run, this is his lethal weapon, the slower cutters, which the batsmen have failed to read it till now

That's 50 runs for Delhi
just 4 runs from the over, a good one

Rajasthan fans not happy with the umpiring decision

 

Why not call them something other than umpires - decision challenged specimen #DDvsRR — Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) May 3, 2014

 

Tambe to continue

FOUR,  KP charges down the track and smashes it over the covers, that had a real sting 

Watson is still shaking his head, seems to be not happy with the decision

DD 57/1 (8) de Kock 35*- KP 9*

Bhatia now, he needs to provide a wickte for his team now, this partenrship is growing, especially Quinny

FOUR, IMPROVISATION ! de Kock walks across and scoops low full toss over the short fone fielder for four

FOUR, MUSCLED AWAY ! short and wide from Bhatia, KP has hit with full force, sweeper cover has no chance to stop that one, quick runs coming for Delhi now

Tambe continues unchanged for his third over now

OUT, HE GETS KP , Pietersen trying too many things early on, flighted form Tambe , KP looking to hit him out of Kotla, miscues and finds the safest fielder Steven Smith on long on boundary

OUT, TAMBE DOES IT FOR RR ! de Kock driving against the turn, hits the blade and carries back straight to the bowler who completes the catch, good innings of 43 comes to an end from Quinny

Steven Smith this is for you

 

Smith spits so much, does it make his catches simpler??? #IPL2014 #ddvsrr #sonysix — Pratik Tibrewal (@pratiktibrewal) May 3, 2014

 

good over from tambe just 3 runs from it and two big wickets

DD 71/3 (10) Karthik 1*- Duminy 0* 

At 42 years, most cricketers don't even exists in the memories of the fans, but look at Tambe he is still on the field and doing wonders

Tambe' bowling average in last year's IPL was 88 and this year it is 18, he is like a fine wine, getting better with the age

Last 5 overs only 31 runs and 2 wickets, after an early blow, Quinny and KP were taking DD to an easy sail but Tambe deliver a jolt in one over, DD seems to have got on back-foot after that

Some praise from SIR itself

Pravin Tambe's victims in this year's #IPL7 are MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Jacques Kallis & KP. Take a Bow! #PepsiIPL #RRvsDD #DDvsRR — Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadeja) May 3, 2014

JP and Karthik on crease now, can JP's charm work again in favor of Delhi?

Bhatia now

off-cutter to JP, driven down to long-on for 1

leg-cutter to DK, on pads, worked it towards sqaure leg for 1

another slower ball, DK misses it, it bounces more than DK thought

Look at the over from Bhatia, 3 slower balls and the batsmen can't read any of those properly

DD 86/3 (13) Karthik 8*- Duminy 6*Run rate 6.61

 

My cellphone's 2G speed is faster than Rajat Bhatia's slower balls. #IPL7 #DDvsRR — Cricket Rants (@CricketRants) May 3, 2014

But his slower balls are much more effective than your 2G network 

Strategic Time Out

DD innings started so well but they have now lost all the steam, can they fight back from here, something above 150 will be a good score on this Kotla track

It's time for these two to let loose and start playing their shots

Pravin Tambe into his last over

no run, flights on off stump, JP looking to sweep, ball sneaks through, close to the stumps

Excellent spell comes to an end 4-0-27-2, picking up de kock and KP in one over really put the brakes on Delhi's batting

DD 95/3 (15) Duminy 10*- Karthik 12*

it's death overs time, in comes Faulker again

OUT, dug in short, DK tries to ball, gets high on him, in the end he top edges it to the fielder at deep sqaure leg, big wicket for RR, out for 12 runs

Some fans still questioning the manual umpire's decision making, well this will be the talking point through out the match

Now it's time to replace umpires with robots.. Such a poor decision by umpire in #PepsiIPL2014 in #DDvsRR match @KP24 was nowhere in screen — Sandeep Prabhu (@Sandeep_Prabhu1) May 3, 2014

 

Kedhar Jadav is the new man

SIX, MUCH NEEDED FOR DD ! Faulker tries similar delivery that he got rid off Karthik, but Jadhav has perfectly dispatched it over the long leg fielder

Dhawal Kulkarni from the other end

FOUR, POOR EFFORT ! slower one, JP slaps it towards cover, Richardson gets to the ball and then lets it thorugh his legs

DD's win percentage playing away from Delhi is 48% while in Delhi it is only 41%

Despite of Duminy's presence on the crease, Delhi still can't find the runs that are required in the death overs, Rajasthan bolwers have been very good 

FOUR, lenght on stumps, JP shuffles and carts it away towards the square leg boundary

That's 4000 runs for JP Duminy in T20 

DD 123/4 (18) Duminy 28*- Jadhav 10* Run rate - 6.83

Frustration from Delhi Daredevils fans

Why is @DelhiDaredevils playing like a test match. Switched off TV. can't watch such pathetic batting. #DDvsRR — Ashish (@ashishseven) May 3, 2014

 

Faulker to bowl the penultimate over

FOUR,  bowled on pads, Jadhav smack it over the midwicket for four, powerful shot from him this time

FOUR, in the slot for JP, who dismisses it straight down the ground, long-on had no chance there

135/4 in 19 overs

Can Delhi reach 150?

Richardson to bowl the last over

SIX, full and sliding down the leg, JP picks up the length and smokes it over saure leg for a maximum

OUT, WHAT A CATCH ! Bhatia has taken a sensational catch while skirting the long leg boundary, full on leg stump, JP tries to swing , gets the elevation but not the distance, Bhatia composes himself to take a good catch, JP vaulable contribution of 39 comes to an end

Wayne Parnell is the new batsman

FOUR,  BRUTAL ! bottom hand comes into play and Jadhav murders the ball towards cover for four

SIX, 150 up for DELHI ! Richardson balls a length delivery, Jadhav unleashes it for an enormous six over long -on 91m 

DD 152/5 in 20 overs - Jadhav 28*- Parnell 0*

Some late power hitting from JP and Jadhav has taken Delhi to a challenging total, 57 runs came in the last 5 overs, JP was slow early on but unleashed some good shots to score quick runs and supporting him was Jadhav, who was striking the ball really hard. rajasthan bowling was good in parts, like Tambe bowling some good overs in between and taking wickets, that slowed down Delhi's progress after a good start from De Kock.

Some encouraging words for Kedar Jadhav

Kedhar jadhav can make it into the Indian team for odi's and t20 cricket by this style of batting @DelhiDaredevils #DDvsRR #ApneMunde — Gaurang Gupta (@Gaurang10Gupta) May 3, 2014

 

With 152 on board now, Delhi will sure find themselves back in this game now, join us in a few minutes for the chase.

 

CHASE BEGINS !

Rahane and Nair to open the batting, Nadeem will bowl first

5 runs from the over

Shami now

FOUR, Rahane caresses good delivery through the covers for four

FOUR, angles in towards the pads, Nair clips it elegantly towards the midwicket for four

Parnell will bowl the third over

OUT, VIJAY PLUGS A SCREAMER ! full from Parnell, Rahane drives it in the air through covers, Vijay dives to his left to take a stunning catch and then a few jigs to follow from Dwayne Bravo's manual, out for 12

RR 27/1 (4) Samson 4*- Nair 8* Run-rate 6.75

Sanju Samson had a few starts but he has not been able to capitalize on thsoe starts, will be eager to do one here

Unadkat to bowl now

SIX, CLEAN HIT FROM SAMSON ! oh boy this boy has got a lot of talent, full on middle from Parnell, Samson clearn his front leg and send it straight down towards the sight screen

If he keeps developing his wicketkeeping, we could well be looking at Dhoni's successor in Samson.And he is a classier batsman #DDvsRR #IPL — Hemant Buch (@hemantbuch) May 3, 2014

 

RR 38/1 (6) Samson 13*- Nair 10* Required rate 8.21

Some piece of advice for Watson

I really think Watson should bat higher, leaving Samson and the others to come in later. Need him anchoring the chase. #DDvsRR #PepsiIPL — Mohamed Zeeshan (@ZeeMohamed93) May 3, 2014

 

Rahul Sharma inserted into the attack now

FOUR, TERRIFIC ! Nair went deep inside his crease to use the pace from Sharma and later cut it towards the point boundary

9 runs from the over

Nadeem is back into the attack

Samson goes back and dabs the ball to covers, no run

Beauty from Nadeem, it grips and turns,beats Samson as he tries to defend

Samson drives this one down all over the ground for a single, That's 50 up for Delhi

DD 52/1 (8) Samson 21*- Nair 16* 

FOUR, tossed up from Sharma, Nair leans forward and plays it uppishly over extra cover , perfect placed

Samson defends by getting behind it, no run

Strategic Time out

RR require 93 from 11 overs at 8.45 required rate

Nadeem into his third over

FOUR, CRISP ! Excellent batting, he comes out and plays it inside out over the covers for four

SIX, SAMSON TAKING THE CHARGE HERE ! Nadeems pulls a short one, Samson rocks and pummels it over long leg for a biggie

That's a 50 run stand between these two

OUT, STUMPED ! Samson thinking too much here, another tossed up delivery from Nadeem, Samson tries to lash it through the covers, loses out his balance and keeper does the rest, he was being too ambitious there, already 10 runs had come from the over, but he wanted more, out for 34

Rajat Bhatia comes up, What is RR thinking, no Watson

Unadkat has been recalled

Even the fans are curious to know this strange tactic from Watson

Rajat Bhatia at number 4? What's wrong? #PepsiIPL #DDvsRR — Aneesh Chandoke (@AneeshChandoke) May 3, 2014

 

SIX, back of a length from Unadkat, Nair makes the room and hops it over extra covers for six, this is power hitting from Nair

A lot of tweets were pouring in for Samson, but nobody seems to have noticed the power and class of Nair, he's been really good tonight

SIX, that's why Bhatia has been send in early, floated ball from Rahul Sharma on middle, Bhatia advances and thumps it over long on

FOUR, Nair this time, a touch too short from Sharma and Nair cuts it hard towards the point boundary, 100 up for RR

RR 102/2 (13) Nair 39*- Bhatia 13*

52 runs required from 42 balls at 7.42 runs per over

Rajasthan closing in the gap now, this partnership worth 33 in just 20 balls, Delhi needs quick wickets at this moment, who can deliver for them?

Wayne Parnell has been brought back

FOUR, CLASSY ! room offered to the batsman, Nair carves it with elegance past the point fielder

RR 111/2 (14)

42 runs required from 36 balls

 

I guess the logic behind this order is to give Bhatia license to hit freely with Watson, Smith, Binny and Faulkner to come #DDvsRR #PepsiIPL — Indraneal (@omnilogist) May 3, 2014

even we think the same

Shami back into the attack

 OUT, GOOD BOWLING FROM SHAMI ! slower one from Shami, Bhatia was into his shot early, swings and misses it, Bhatia out for 17

Watson comes now

RR 115/3 Nair 48*- Watson 0*

38 required from 30, it should be easy for RR from here on

SIX, flighted and Watson skips down the track and hits Nadeem for a big one over long-on

Unadkat around the wicket

SIX, WHAT A TALENT NAIR IS TURNING OUT TO BE ! short from him, Unadkat clobbers it over the midwicket, it was hit right from the meat of the bat
That's 50 for Nair ! Well Done

RR 136/3 (17) Nair 60*- Watson 9*
RR require 17 runs from 18 balls

 

Well dobe Karun Nair ..Thanks Dravid and Watson for Promoting Indian Talent and bringing them to RR #PepsiIpl #DDvsRR — Maniraj Singh (@madzunited) May 3, 2014

Parnell to bowl the 18th over

FOUR, AS EASY AS YOU LIKE ! short ball, Nair easily dabs it towards the third man for four 

SIX, WATTO NOW ! shortish from Parnell, and Watson creams it to midwicket for a huge six

Rajasthan is making this chase look so easy here, and they are doing it in style

FOUR, slower ball and Karun Nair dispatches it towards point for four as Rajasthan seal a thumping win over Delhi by 7 wickets with 9 balls to spare

Rajasthan beat Delhi by 7 wickets, 156/3 in 18.3 overs (Samson 73*- Watson 16*)

In previosu 24 attempts, RR have 10 times chased down the socre of 150 plus

Easy victory for Royals.. Like a walk in the park! That too away from home. Halla Bol! #DDvsRR #RRvsDD #PepsiIPL — مفضل محمد (@Fame_Monster10) May 3, 2014

 

Comprehensive victory for Rajasthan Royals, after losing Rahane early in the chase, Nair and Samson kept them in hunt, with good partnerships coming in the middle, every one played their part while Nair at one achored the innings and steered Rajasthan to a fine win with some delightful shots and mature head. Delhi bowlers couldn't do much in the game.

After being put to bat first Delhi, unlike Rajasthan kept on losing wickets, though De Kock stayed but once he got out, runs were hard to come, but last three overs Delhi were able to get par 150, with some help from JP and Jadhav, Delhi thought it was a good score but their bowlers could not defend this total. Their bowling was toothless and lacked class

Karun Nair is the Man of the Match for his 73 not out off 50 balls

Final Score: Rajasthan Royals (156/3 in 18.3 overs Nair 73*- Shami 1/22) beat Delhi Daredevils (152/5 in 20 overs De Kock 42- tambe 2/25) by 7 wickets

That's all from tonight, this is Uzair Hasan Rizvi, have a good night !