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Rajasthan Royals when Riyan Parag arrived: 30/2 in 5.2 overs
Rajasthan Royals when Riyan Parag finished 84*: 185/5 in 20 overs
ALSO READ: Riyan Parag is ready — but is the rest of the world?
RR scored 92 runs in the final six overs. Parag was 26 off 26 balls then. Thereon, he scored 58 runs from 19 deliveries. The right-hander now has 127 runs in the season at a strike rate of 171.6.
Ashwin at five
After losing early wickets, RR sent Ravichandran Ashwin (29 off 19 balls) to bat at five. The move worked as Ashwin forged a 54-run stand with Parag for the fourth wicket. Ashwin also broke the shackles, hitting three sixes before Parag took over. This is the fourth time Ashwin batted at five for RR, and has scored 101 runs at this position from 70 balls in total.
Delhi falls after a good start, again
Delhi scored 59 runs in the powerplay, 28 more than Rajasthan did. But in the middle overs, they fell 16 runs behind and then another 24 runs behind in the last five.
In IPL 2023, Delhi had the worst run-rate post powerplay (7.8) and the worst batting average (19.6) among the 10 sides. This is their fourth failed run chase in a row.
Chahal continues to be impactful
Yuzvendra Chahal picked 2/19 in the match in three overs. In his last two overs, he conceded only 10 runs and picked crucial wickets of Rishabh Pant and Abishek Porel.
Avesh gets it right
Delhi needed 17 runs in the final over and Avesh Khan allowed them only 4. Avesh has bowled the 20th over 14 times in IPL now and this was his best performance in the last over while defending a total.
Avesh began the final over with three immaculate yorkers which built so much pressure, that even when he missed his mark on the last three balls, the Delhi batters couldn't connect.
