Hello and welcome to Sportstar's LIVE coverage of the IPL 2019 encounter between the Delhi Capitals and the Rajasthan Royals at the Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium in Delhi.
Pant finishes things off with a six, just like he did in the previous meeting between the two sides! He moves to fifty with that hit, requiring just 38 balls. A matured innings from the dashing left-hander by mixing aggression with some caution when Royals' spinners took control.
After 48 deliveries without a boundary, Pant smacks a six and a four off Aaron. Rutherford then hits a six off Gopal before skying a catch the next ball to Livingstone. A lot happening in the middle but Delhi Capitals should see out the chase comfortably from here on. DC 106/4 in 15.2 overs
WICKET! Ingram departs as his sweep shot kisses the glove and loops up for a catch to Rahane in first slip. Ish Sodhi with the third of the evening. Still some fight left in the Royals. DC 83/4 in 13.4 overs
Pant and Colin Ingram settle in through a crucial passage of play without any hiccup. 46 required off 10 overs. DC 70/3 in 10 overs
WICKET! Iyer only wants to deal with sixes at the moment but he can only find the hands of the long-on fielder. Gopal gets his first of the evening. DC 61/3 in 7.3 overs
Parag can only do so much. His off-spinners get the Pant treatment. The belligerent batsman launches Parag over long-on for two sixes! DC 60/2 in 7 overs
Skipper Shreyas Iyer relieves some pressure off the Capitals after a few tight overs. He smacks 6, 6, 4 to end the powerplay overs. DC 46/2 in 6 overs
Pant survives the hat-trick ball. A double-wicket maiden for Sodhi. Will Royals' leg spinners, Sodhi and Gopal, turn this in their favour?
Ish Sodhi strikes first ball! Dhawan comes down the track and launches him high in the air. Riyan Parag runs backwards to complete a good catch. DC 28/1 in 3.1 overs WICKET! Two-in-two for Ish Sodhi! Shaw drags one onto his stumps. DC 28/2 in 3.2 overs
Dhawan gets Delhi off to a solid start with Prithvi for company. DC 28/0 in 3 overs
Krishnappa Gowtham to start things off for Royals!
Parag shows his frustration at not connecting that final ball. As he walks of the ground, he is congratulated by the Delhi Capitals players and his own teammates. Has he given his team a fighting chance to remain in play-offs contention?
Riyan Parag! This 17-year-old is a serious player. Two sixes in the final over of the innings and he moves to his maiden IPL fifty, the youngest in competition's history. He is dismissed going for a third six off the last ball of the over. RR 115/9 in 20 overs
Stoppage in play as Keemo Paul needs some attention to his foot.. or his shoe. Not sure what is the problem here as the West Indian walks off the field. Rutherford will bowl the remaining deliveries in the over.
WICKET number 8! Ish Sodhi spoons a catch to cover into the hands of Amit Mishra. Mishra could do no wrong today.
Riyan Parag continues to look good in a poor Royals' campaign. He dents Ishant's bowling figures with back-to-back boundaries. His solo act on the pitch is akin to a good actor trying to salvage the shortcomings of a below par supporting cast. RR 95/7 in 17 overs
One of my colleague says 'Royals are losing their royalty' as he leaves for the day. Hard to disagree with him.
Mishra does eventually get his man. Gowtham's shot selection and match awareness suggest he needs to be some place else than at the Kotla. The leg-spinner gives an easy catch to the long-off fielder. RR 65/7 in 13.3 overs
DROPPED! It should have been Mishra's fourth hat-trick of his IPL career.... Gowtham survives the hat-trick ball! His mistimed shot slips the grasp of Trent Boult! The ball was in the air for an eternity. How did no player get in to a good position for the catch?!
It appears the young Parag would have to do everything on his own. WICKET! Gopal comes down down the track and misses Mishra's leg spinner to have himself caught short of his crease. One brings two! Stuart Binny edges one into the gloves of Pant the very next ball. RR 57/6 in 11.3 overs
A couple of lusty blows to the fence from Parag takes Rajasthan past 50. RR 55/4 in 10 overs
What a big opportunity for the young Riyan Parag today. He has scored a couple of 40-plus scores so far. Today, he has the overs in hand to take his time and help Royals put up a respectable total. He will, however, need batting support at the other end. Here's more on the 17-year-old talent in the words of P.K. Ajith Kumar
WICKET! Dear, oh dear.. Whatever little hope Royals had of making the play-offs appear to be crumbling in the opening six overs of the game. Key batsman Sanju Samson is run-out after a mix-up with Lomror. WICKET! Royals are falling away like nine pins here! Lomror edges Ishant behind, the India pacer has three in three overs! RR 30/4 in 5.2 overs
WICKET! The low scoring rate in the powerplay catches up with Livingstone, who misses a wild heave off a slower ball from Ishant.
Rahane with captaincy: 27, 70, 0, 22, 5, 14, 37, 26, 2 (today)
Rahane without captaincy: 12, 105, 34, 39, DNB
WICKET! Captaincy curse for Rahane? He top edges a leg glance to deep-square leg. Ishant is back into the XI with a wicket! Dhawan takes the catch and celebrates with his trademark thigh slap.
After a couple of missed pokes outside the off stump, Liam Lingstone is away. The Englishman runs down the track and smacks Ishant Sharma over mid wicket for a six!
The last time these two teams faced off Rahane struck a flowing century before his side was blown away by Rishabh Pant's belligerence! Will Capitals' young guns put an end to Royals' play-off hopes today?
Although, Delhi Capitals has its play-off place sealed it would like a win here today and have the cushion of a top-two finish. Big game for Kiwi pacer Trent Boult, who will have to spearhead the team's attack in the absence of Kagiso Rabada.
Keemo and Ishant come in for Suchith and Morris in the DC XI. Royals bring in spin twins K. Gowtham and Ish Sodi into their XI; Unadkat has to sit out.
Rajasthan Royals wins the toss and elects to bat first. Stand-in skipper Rahane expects the track to get slower as the day progresses. The Indian isn't too fussed about the captaincy switch-a-roo with Smith; feels he has the trust of the management.
What are the scenarios for the four teams chasing a playoff spot ahead of the final weekend of the league phase? IPL 2019 playoff qualification scenarios: SRH, RR, KKR, KXIP battle for 4th spot
As we wait for the toss, here's what Gautam Gambhir had to say to Shahid Afridi for his 'attitude' jibe| Gambhir invites Afridi for psycho analysis in India
With Steven Smith returning to Australia to join the national team, Rajasthan Royals has decided to hand over the responsibility of captaining the side to Ajinkya Rahane| Rahane to lead Rajasthan against Delhi
Delhi Capitals will have the chance to complete a remarkable turnaround at home when it takes on Rajasthan Royals at the Ferozeshah Kotla.
Here is our correspondent Abhishek Mukherjee's take on today's contest in New Delhi:
Delhi Capitals will have the chance to complete a remarkable turnaround at home when it takes on Rajasthan Royals at the Ferozeshah Kotla here. The team at one point lost three out of four games here; a win on Saturday will end its league on a high and ensure it has more wins (four) than losses (three) here this season.
It will look to bounce back from its defeat in the previous game against Chennai Super Kings, a defeat Shreyas Iyer, the captain, termed as “reality check.”
What was worrying from Capitals’ point of view was its struggles against spin. Leg-spinner Imran Tahir and left-arm orthodox spinner Ravindra Jadeja shared seven wickets between them as Capitals was bowled out for 99, chasing 180. On a surface likely to assist spin, it will have to adopt a better approach and a better plan.
Watch: Rajasthan's playoff hopes hanging by a thread
The bowling had been of high standard for much of the tournament due to the accuracy and death-bowling skills of fast bowler Kagiso Rabada. With Rabada now ruled out, the contest will be another experiment to determine what challenges surface with his absence. Can Trent Boult step up to the plate? Boult had been expensive in the previous contest — against Super Kings — and will hope to be sharper this time.
In comparison, Rajasthan Royals has bigger headaches. The team possesses 11 points from 13 matches, and will need to win this game to retain a slim chance of securing the fourth Playoff spot. In a must-win contest, it will be without Steve Smith, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes — they have all left for Cricket World Cup 2019 duty.
Ajinkya Rahane will lead the side once again.
Despite the challenges, the team will be buoyant after having been undefeated in its last three matches. It could have ensured three wins out of three had rain not intervened in its last contest — against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bengaluru.
Read: Last chance for Sunrisers Hyderabad to make playoffs
Incidentally, its last defeat was against Capitals at home. In a run-fest, Rishabh Pant had struck a belligerent 78 to steer Capitals home in the final over.
Pant has scored in single digits since then. Both his half-centuries in the competition so far have been away from home. Ferozeshah Kotla is where Pant has played much of his domestic cricket, and the upcoming contest will be a good chance to entertain his home fans for a change.
The match will be streamed live on Hotstar.
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