IPL 2021, Match 36: DC vs RR, Stats Review: Ravi Ashwin, Rishabh Pant go to milestones as DC thrash RR

Extending their purple patch in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, Delhi Capitals defeated Rajasthan Royals by 33 runs and confirmed a berth in the playoffs. It was indeed a comprehensive win as RR were on the back foot for the major part of the contest. Chasing 155 in Abu Dhabi, the inaugural season champions suffered a tragic batting failure and suffered a thumping defeat.

As for as the proceedings of the game are concerned, Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to bowl at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The decision seemed spot-on as DC lost both of their openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw cheaply. However, Shreyas Iyer joined forces with skipper Rishabh Pant and the duo rebuilt the innings.

At 82/2, the Capitals looked all set to post a substantial total. However, some sensational death bowling from Rajasthan Royals dented their plans. The likes of Chetan Sakariya and Mustafizur Rahman did some talking with the old ball as DC were restricted to 154/6 in their allotted 20 overs. Although RR would have been the happier team at the halfway stage, their batters left them down. Chasing the tricky total, the Men in Pink never really looked in the hunt.

Three wickets in the first five overs meant the middle order went into a shell and that was evident in the scoring rate. Except for skipper Sanju Samson, no RR batsman stood up as the Men in Pink were restricted to 121/6, losing the game by 33 runs. While this win propelled DC to the playoffs, RR slipped down to the sixth place.

Meanwhile, here are the important stats and numbers from the DC vs RR clash in IPL 2021:

3 – Ravi Ashwin became the third Indian bowler after Piyush Chawla and Amit Mishra to complete 250 wickets in T20 cricket.

21 – Rajasthan Royals recorded the lowest powerplay score in IPL 2021, 21/3. Mumbai Indians posted 21/1 against Punjab Kings in the first six overs.

2011 – The Royals didn’t score a single boundary in powerplay overs. Since 2011, this was the first instance of a team not clearing the ropes in the first six overs.

8 – Rishabh Pant became the eighth wicketkeeper to complete 50 catches in the Indian Premier League.

2 – Only for the second time, DC have defended a total of 154 or lower in IPL. In 2009, they defended 152 against Rajasthan Royals only in Bloemfontein.

300 – Rishabh Pant now has 300 runs against Rajasthan Royals, most for a Delhi batsman. The DC skipper went past Virender Sehwag (295).

50 – Sanju Samson slammed his first half-century against Delhi Capitals in IPL. His previous highest score against DC was 40 which was recorded in 2014.

14 – Overall, it was Samson’s 14th half-century in the Indian Premier League.

45 – Mustafizur Rehman now has 45 wickets in T20 matches this season, second most for any bowler. Rashid Khan tops the list with 50 scalps.

1– This is the first instance of Sanju Samson remaining unbeaten in a run chase and his side has ended up losing in IPL.