Jaipur, May 1
A dazzling fifty by Riyan Parag and a fiery cameo in the end by Donovan Ferreira cruised Rajasthan Royals to a massive 225/6 in their Indian Premier League clash against Delhi Capitals on Friday in Jaipur.
Parag slammed his first fifty of the 2026 IPL, smashing a fluent 90, while Ferreira hammered DC bowlers in the final three overs, making 47 off just 14 balls at a strike rate of 335.71.
DC will now need to chase down 226 to win the match and get their fourth win of the tournament.
After opting to bat first at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, RR's innings began with fireworks as Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed a six off the first ball, but Mitchell Starc had the last laugh, dismissing him just two balls later.
The crisis deepened on RR when Vaibhav Sooryavanshi fell to Kyle Jamieson, leaving the Royals reeling at 12/2 within the first two overs.
Skipper Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel then orchestrated a massive recovery with a 102-run partnership. While Jurel played a calculated knock of 42 off 30 balls, Parag took the aggressor's role.
He broke the shackles by hammering Axar Patel for consecutive sixes and reached a defiant half-century off 32 deliveries.
However, DC skipper gave his side a much needed break through and removed Jurel for 42, ending a massive 102-run partnership, bringing Ravindra Jadeja to the crease.
Just as RR looked set for a massive finish, Starc returned to dismantle the momentum. He first removed Ravindra Jadeja for 20 off 14 and then claimed the big wicket of Parag for a brilliant 90 off 50 balls, including 8 fours and 5 sixes in the 17th over, bringing Donovan Ferreira and Shubham Dubey to the crease.
Ferreira, continuing his good form in the tournament, slammed veteran spinner Kuldeep Yadav for three massive sixes in the 18th over.
Ferreira also took on Starc, hammering him for 17 runs in the 19th over to take RR past the 200-run mark.
T Natarajan struck on the first legal delivery of the final over, dismissing Dubey for just 6 and bringing Jofra Archer to the crease.
Ferreira continued his aggressive onslaught in the final over as well, smashing Natarajan for 18 runs to power RR to 225/6 in their 20 overs.
For DC in bowling, Starc stood up in his first match of the season, scalping 3 wickets, while Jamieson, Patel and Natarajan chipped in with a wicket each.
- ANI
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