RR vs DC, 40th Match at Jaipur, IPL, Apr 22 2019 - Ball by Ball Commentary

That's that from Jaipur for tonight. We're back on Tuesday as Chennai Super Kings take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in what could be a critical match for both teams in Chennai. Top spot on the points table beckons for Chennai, while Sunrisers can catch up with Mumbai Indians on 12 points. Should be a great game. Join us for that on ESPNcricinfo...for the moment, this is Debayan Sen signing off on behalf of Ankur Dhawan, Thilak Gowda and the rest of the crew here

Shiva Jayaraman from the ESPNcricinfo stats team has this gem, "the average hundred batting first has come in 54 balls in the IPL. Out of the 19 hundreds that have taken 54 or more balls, only 10 have come in wins. Out of the 23 hundreds that have taken 53 or fewer balls, 20 have come in wins"

Nagaraja: "Delhis' result seems to be proving the importance of role of coach. Ricky Ponting seems to carry winning energies which ensured MI win the title when Ricky was the coach and he is proving it now with DC!!"

Yash: "Just had a look at the cricinfo IPL rankings. Moeen at No. 1 makes perfect sense but I'm a little surprised to not find Joffra Archer in the top 10. He's been one of the best death overs bowler this season. " --- It's a completely subjective list, Yash. I watch as many games as possible, and then have a really hard time zeroing in on the final 10, believe me!

Rishabh Pant is the player of the match, tells Murali Kartik at the presentation: "Feels really good to make your team win a crucial match. (selection of World Cup) I won't lie that the thought wasn't running through my mind, but I just focus on my process and that's all I was thinking of. The wicket was playing good, and I just took advantage of that, I guess. (The thinktank) Most important thing for our team is that everyone knows our role, and the support staff tells us, 'this is your role, and this is what is going to happen to you.'"

Shreyas Iyer: "(Away from home) When we play away from home, the wickets are so good. We enjoy playing on the rise, and the wickets are perfectly made for them. It was important to get a good start in the Powerplay, and Shikhar has been doing that well. The way we've been playing away games and coming back to our home games, we are unaware of how our pitch plays itself. We are happy the way currently our team is going. Let's not give reasons when we play at home. We knew they were going to go all out, especially the way Ajinkya was batting. This is a big ground, and the pitch was a belter. The way they started, we were expecting 200, but the bowlers did well to restrict them to 190. (The major shift) Ricky (Ponting) just says that each batsman who starts must keep going. In the top 4, we have had Rishabh, myself and Shikhar doing that role. Today, Sharfane played a good cameo and took us closer to the win."

SK: "MSK: Shankar is a 3-Dimensional player, Pant: Hold my Beer.." --- Today's performance was 4D at times!

Chan: "Delhi finished top of the table in 2012. Sehwag and Morne Morkel were excellent in that season. 11-12 wins if I'm not wrong. " --- Yes, went as favourites into the playoffs, and then gambled by including Pawan Negi in a qualifier, if I remember correctly

Raj: "RR only got 8/over last 7 overs. Rahane 23 of 16 balls and Rest 31 of 26 balls. Game Changer." --- Yes, at 12 overs, they were 122 for 1, and when they reflect, they will believe they should have kicked on to atleast about 215-220. That said, Delhi managed the chase perfectly too, and it was a very good batting wicket

Lovenya: "Comeon update the points table quickly I wanna see it and take a screenshot to capture this rare moment and cherish for quite some time " --- Here you go

Shikhar Dhawan: "I've become vegetarian, and the past few matches, I have changed my mindset and the way I play. Giving the team a good start has been good for me. (This season) I wouldn't say last two games, maybe more 4-5 games. I just believe that I have to play more aggressive. We were losing early wickets, and I was trying to give partnerships. I am enjoying attacking the bowlers, and loving it."

Steven Smith tells the broadcasters: "We probably didn't finish off with the bat as well as we could have. I thought Morris and Rabada executed well in the backend. This was the best wicket we have played on all tournament. Shikhar played a magnificent knock, and Rishabh is a powerful young man, and he plays the ball in strange spots. (On dew) We probably changed a few tactics. Didn't want to bowl Shreyas in the Powerplay, but I also didn't want him to bowl at the backend. It's a really good cricket wicket, and a really good game of cricket. (Idea behind not using Jofra Archer early) He can go either way. You can try and get wickets with your best bowler up front, or you can hold back like Delhi did with Rabada. We could have tried that option, but we chose to have him for the backend."

11.37pm Delhi win the first meeting this season against Rajasthan Royals, and Ajinkya Rahane's cracking century goes in vain. Shikhar Dhawan provided the early impetus, but when he fell to Shreyas Gopal, Rajasthan would have seen an opening. That little gap in the door was slammed firmly shut by Rishabh Pant, with a buccaneering 78 off just 36 balls

Hafiz: "After winning this game, DC will be in 1st place in the point table. Is it happening in first time in IPL history? WOW for DC!!"

Unadkat

Lakshman Kumar: "Time for the customary Delhi collapse to begin..!! "

Six off six now

SK: "That looked like a tactical misfield to keep Pant off strike .. "

Big ball coming up...

Mahesh Balaji: "I don't remember a cover drive, a square cut or anything even being attempted on the off side from Pant. His bandwagon says 90% runs scored on the leg side. It's surprising that bowlers haven't found him out yet." --- He has actually played a lot of balls from outside off to the leg side. It's been a pretty entertaining, innovative innings

RJ: "I just do not figure out why Dhawal Kulkarni plays every IPL season.. He has just not done ANYTHING in ANY Season.. Bizzare"

Ingram comes in, and now will have to face Archer

Dev: "What about a left hand right hand combination now. DC didn't care unlike RCB"

That was still a good over for Delhi - 13 off that over, and Rutherford undone by a slower ball, but he has just edged them that bit closer

Mr Babel: "@Vignesh: I'm sure cricinfo considered adding live chat system, but for that too they'd a few moderators to filter the comments. And that means we're back to the current situation. ;)"

Avi: "I m watching DC's game despite my engineering board exam.hope DC wins " ---- Which one has more riding on it?

Navjot S Bhatia: "Similarity between the Bails and Ashton Turner this season..?? Both refuse to "Get Off the Mark"...!!"

Srinath Sripath reminds me, "If Delhi win, three out of four unbeaten hundreds in IPL 2019 would have resulted in losses - Samson, Rahul and Rahane". Gaurav Sundararaman adds that Chris Gayle also got 99 not out in a losing cause

saurabh diwan: "Spoiler : RR fans crying in 20 minutes"

John A Raju: "@Chandan: I remember commentators saying that the zing bails are heavier. The normal bails are wooden and are like 15g and the zing bails are around 300g if I'm not wrong"

Kulkarni returns

Rajasthan were 165 for 4 at this stage

David : "Cue the Delhi collapse"

Rutherford walks in

SK: "I dnt know if this season has the most dropped catches , but i would like to knw if this season has most instances of ball hitting stumps but bails not falling !! Happened twice with archer itself ..!!"

Chandan J: "Anyone thinks that the bails are heavier due to the light effects?"

FREE HIT!

Hi Navjot, here's your answer