Mitchell Starc powered Delhi Capitals (DC) to a thrilling Super Over win over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their IPL 2025 match. With RR needing nine off the final over while chasing 189, Starc forced the Super Over, where he only conceded 11 runs, a total which was achieved by DC batter KL Rahul and Tristan Stubbs with two balls to spare. The win saw DC reclaim the top spot in the IPL 2025 points table with five wins in six games while RR remained eighth with four points from seven matches.
There were no changes in the Orange Cap and Purple Cap leaderboards, which are still led by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) vice-captain Nicholas Pooran and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) spinner Noor Ahmad, respectively. KKR bowlers Harshit Rana and Varun Chakravarthy are on 10 wickets each, two behind Noor.
Chasing 189, Yashasvi Jaiswal (51 off 37) and ‘local lad’ Nitish Rana (51 off 28) had the Royals cruising, but DC’s bowlers turned the tide with a roaring late surge, eventually tying the game at 188/4.
The late drama followed a solid batting effort by DC, built on Abishek Porel’s composed 49 and explosive cameos from skipper Axar Patel (34 off 14) and Tristan Stubbs (34 not out off 18), lifting them to a competitive 188/5 after being asked to bat.
Desperate for a win to reignite their campaign, Jaiswal came out all guns blazing as he clobbered two sixes off Mukesh Kumar before dismantling Mitchell Starc with two boundaries and a towering maximum, making his intent clear.
Sanju Samson joined the party even as Ashutosh Sharma spilled a regulation catch. The Royals’ captain eventually retired hurt, after pulling his side.
With the chase humming along, Axar wicketless all season, broke the drought with a ripper that outfoxed Riyan Parag.
Jaiswal, however, looked invincible until Axar turned once more to his trusted match-winner Kuldeep Yadav (1/33 in 4 overs). The move worked. Delhi’s standout wrist-spinner struck gold, removing the set Jaiswal.
But Rana was in no mood to let up. The southpaw batted with precision, sending anything in his arc to the fence with ease.
His calculated aggression and clean ball-striking kept Royals firmly on course. But once Rana was trapped led before by Starc the script changed.
Earlier, if Porel and KL Rahul (38) laid a solid foundation with a 63-run stand, Axar’s blistering 13-ball 34, along with Tristan Stubbs’ (34 not out off 18 balls) late surge, provided the final flourish in an innings where momentum swung like a pendulum between the two sides.
Sandeep Sharma (0/33) bowled beautifully through his spell, took pace off his deliveries. However, he lost his rhythm in the final over, leaking four wides and a no-ball.
Delhi Capitals got off to a fiery start, with Jake Fraser-McGurk (9) cracking back-to-back boundaries off Jofra Archer (2/32) to set the tone.
Young Porel lit up the stadium early on, taking the second over by storm. He tore into Tushar Deshpande, smashing 23 runs, including four elegant boundaries.
But the highlight was a sublime flick over deep backward square for a maximum that had the crowd roaring.
However, DC’s momentum faltered as Fraser-McGurk’s lean patch persisted. The Australian lofted a simple catch to Yashasvi Jaiswal at mid-off in the fourth over, gifting Rajasthan Royals a breakthrough.
Run outs came back to haunt Delhi again as a mix-up between Porel and the in-form Karun Nair (0) resulted in the latter’s dismissal, abruptly halting the Capitals’ early charge.
The Royals’ bowlers tightened the noose during the middle overs, drying up the boundaries and building persistent pressure.
Yet, Porel found a steady ally in seasoned Rahul. The veteran batter brought a sense of calm amid storm, easing the pressure with two towering sixes — one launched down the ground off Deshpande in the 7th, and another elegantly lifted over long-off against Mahesh Theekshana in the 11th.
Just when the hosts looked like having rebuild their innings, Archer was brought back skipper Sanju Samson. And the English pacer struck gold, dismissing Rahul with back of length delivery that found Shimron Hetmyer at deep midwicket.
The West Indian held on to a low catch, inches above the ground, swinging the momentum back in Rajasthan’s favour.
But DC skipper Axar, who hasn’t had the best of tournaments exploded, smashing four boundaries and two maximums before Stubbs’ clean strikes helped Delhi finish strong.
(With PTI Inputs)
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