Tristan Stubbs leads Delhi Capitals to thrilling Super Over victory against Rajasthan Royals

NEW DELHI: Tristan Stubbs starred in a pulsating Super Over win for Delhi Capitals against Rajasthan Royals, hitting a six that sealed the issue after having contributed an 18-ball 34 not out down the order that helped the Capitals put up a fighting total.
Stubbs’ maximum came as heartbreak for the Royals, who at one point looked to be in total command of the 189-ball chase. Stubbs’ star turn was one among many for the Capitals, starting with Abhishek Porel, who again showcased his versatility. A natural strokeplayer, Porel blended elegance, aggression, and situational awareness to notch up a sprightly 49 (off 37b; 4x5, 1x6).

Thereafter, KL Rahul (38 off 32b), Axar Patel (34 off 14b), Stubbs and Ashutosh Sharma (15* off 11b) made telling contributions as Delhi Capitals posted 188/5. The Royals, though, appeared to have it all under control at one stage during the chase.
Nitish Rana (51 off 28b; 6x4, 2x6) brought his ‘A’ game, playing a captivating innings full of aggression. His knock was pivotal in maintaining the momentum after Yashasvi Jaiswal (51 off 37b; 3x4, 4x6) and Sanju Samson (31 retd. off 19b) got RR off to a rocking start.
Towards the end, Dhruv Jurel (26 off 17b) and Shimron Hetmyer (15* off 9b) nearly got RR over the line. But DC speedster Mitchell Starc bowled an incredible final over, nailing his yorkers with precision. RR required nine from the final over to win, but the Jurel-Hetmyer duo managed to get only eight.
As the match went into a Super Over, the first of this season, Starc once again showed his impressive death-bowling skills as RR put 11 on the board. Chasing 12, KL Rahul and Stubbs walked out for DC, with Sandeep Sharma bowling for Rajasthan. Rahul carved a boundary, and Stubbs smacked the winning six high into the stands over midwicket off the fourth delivery.
Earlier, DC opener Porel smashed Tushar Deshpande for 23 runs in the second over. A graceful pick-up whip that saw the ball soar deep into the stands at deep backward square leg was the highlight. As Deshpande delivered it full on the pads, Porel just waited before effortlessly flicking it over the ropes for six.

But back-to-back wickets of Jake Fraser-McGurk and Karun Nair saw Porel tone down his belligerent self. While FraserMcGurk fell to the pace and bounce of Jofra Archer, Nair was run out after a horrible mix-up between him and Porel. Rahul’s stint at the crease was sedate and nothing out of the ordinary.
He mostly preferred to milk the bowling rather than go for aggressive options. The 63-run partnership between him and Porel took 9.3 overs. Rahul holed out to deep midwicket off Archer’s bowling, and soon Porel miscued one from Wanindu Hasaranga. But skipper Axar Patel injected some much-needed momentum to the DC innings. He first got hold of Hasaranga for a 19-run over in the 16th, and then collected 16 runs off the next one (17th) bowled by Maheesh Theekshana.