Bengaluru, Oct. 14: Bowled! A wicket to begin the Delhi Capitals vs Rajasthan Royals Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Dubai International Stadium.
Jofra Archer removed Delhi opener Prithvi Shaw on the very first delivery to hand the Royals a strong start in match number 30 of the ongoing season of the IPL.
After removing the destructive Shaw early, Archer struck again in the third over to pick up Ajinkya Rahane's wicket. Robin Uthappa picked Rahane up at mid-on to reduce Delhi to 10/2 in 2.3 overs.
But despite the great start handed by Archer, the Delhi Capitals bounced back as opener Shikhar Dhawan and captain Shreyas Iyer notched up half-centuries to help Delhi overcome the shaky start. But despite a solid partnership Delhi weren't able to put up a massive total on the board as the Royals bowlers kept the batsmen in check.
The last five overs, which generally leaks the maximum runs, saw only 32 runs come off it. The Rajasthan Royals bowlers, led by Archer, bowled economically to keep the Delhi batsmen in check.
After the early wicket, Dhawan scored 57 off 33 to help the Capitals steady their innings. Dhawan's innings was studded with six fours and two sixes. Meanwhile skipper Iyer, who was also removed by Archer, scored a steady 53 off 43, which included three fours and two sixes.
The Dhawan-Iyer partnership yielded 85 runs came off 57 deliveries.
Jofra Archer led the Royals attack as he gave away just 19 runs from his four overs and picked up three wickets. Archer was supported by Jaydev Unadkat who picked up two wickets. Karthik Tyagi and Shreyas Gopal picked up a wicket each, bowling economical spells to keep the scoreboard in check. The Royals bowlers kept the Capitals in check with Delhi posting 161/7. With the total not too tough a task, the Delhi bowlers will have their task cut out.