Ahmedabad: Rajasthan Royals comprehensively crushed favourite whipping boys Delhi Daredevils by 62 runs in a thoroughly one-sided encounter to consolidate their chances of making it to the play-offs in the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League here on Thursday.
Kevin Pietersen completely read the pitch wrong as he invited Rajasthan Royals to make best use of the conditions by piling up their season’s best score of 201 for six.
Ajinkya Rahane (64), Sanju Samson (40), Kevon Cooper (32) and James Faulkner (23) all made merry against a below par Daredevils attack.
In reply, Daredevils batsmen never had the technique to win a match on a pitch that got slower with each passing over as they managed only 139 for nine to slump to their ninth defeat and sixth consecutive loss at home.
Royals now have 14 points and have steered clear by four points ahead of their nearest rivals – Kolkata Knight Riders, who are on 10 points.
Manoj Tiwary fought well for his unbeaten 61 but the Daredevils were never in the game from the first over of the match.
Mayank Agarwal (17) was done in by a slower from James Faulkner as stand-in captain Steve Smith grabbed an easy catch at mid-off.
Dinesh Karthik (3), who was bought for a whopping Rs 12.5 crore again flattered to deceive as he mistimed a pull off a slow bouncer from Dhawal Kulkarni to be caught by Ben Cutting on the fine leg boundary.
JP Duminy (8) hit Tambe for a six but the Grand Old Man of IPL had his revenge with a googly, which Duminy played into the hands of Karun Nair standing at point.
Kevin Pietersen (13) should have been adjudged run out when he was on three as he was caught short of the crease with substitute Unmukt Chand hitting the stumps. Umpire S Ravi shocked everyone as he didn’t even consult the third umpire just like now ousted Sanjay Hazare didn’t against the same team at Delhi.
Pietersen’s agony increased as the pitch got slower and Rajat Bhatia varied the pace and length, making it virtually impossible as he was bowled trying a hoick. Ross Taylor (4) also committed early to a slower delivery giving a simple return catch to Bhatia. Within the first 10 overs the match as a contest was as good as over with half of the team in the dugout.
Tiwary’s poor call saw a mix-up resulting in Kedar Jadhav’s (3) run out and only the formalities remained from there on out.
Earlier, Rahane once again anchored the innings to perfection while Samson played another flamboyant knock as Rajasthan Royals piled up their season’s highest score of 201 for six after being out in to bat.
Rahane scored a stylish 64 off 50 balls while Samson smashed his way to 40 off only 25 deliveries.
The duo punished the opposition, scoring as many as 74 runs in 6.3 overs for the third wicket partnership.
While Rahane mostly played othodox cricketing shots, hitting eight fours and a six in the process, Samson indulged in some adventurous strokeplay, hitting two fours and three sixes. Kevon Cooper’s 16-ball-32 and James Faulkner’s 23 off eight deliveries were also vital in the context of the big total that the Royals put up.
For Daredevils, Imran Tahir (2-25) stood tall amidst some of the others while Rahul Shukla leaking as many as 44 runs in four overs. (PTI)
Brief scores:
RR: 201/6, 20 overs (A Rahane 64, S Samson 40, K Cooper 32; I Tahir 2-25, S Nadeem 2-35)
DD: 139/9, 20 overs (M Tiwary 61*; R Bhatia 2-18)