Rajasthan rode on David Miller’s combative 43-ball 62 and Chris Morris’ blitzkrieg innings of 36 off just 18 balls to script a thrilling three-wicket win over Delhi in an Indian T20 League clash at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
Chasing 148 for a win, Rajasthan were reeling at 42/5 in their first 10 overs having lost the wickets of Jos Buttler (2), Manan Vohra (9), Sanju Samson (4), Shivam Dube (2) and Riyan Parag (2).
David Miller stitched a 48-run partnership (off 33 balls) with Rahul Tewatia to bring Rajasthan back into the match. But soon Miller (62) and Tewatia (19) departed as Rajasthan needed 44 runs off 32 balls.
It was at this point Chris Morris, who became the most expensive player in Indian T20 League history, played a blinder where he clobbered two sixes off Delhi pacer Tom Curran in the last over to win the game for Rajasthan.
With this win, Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan have moved to the fifth spot in the Indian T20 League 2021 points table. That said, let’s take a look at some key stats from the game.
Match winning knocks from Miller and Morris
David Miller registered his 10th fifty in the Indian T20 League and his 11th fifty-plus scores as he kept Rajasthan in the run chase. Interestingly, 10 of these fifties have come in chases. Furthermore, six of these have come in a winning cause which includes a ton against Bangalore in 2013.
Miller's fifty-plus scores in Indian T20 League
| Innings | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR | Opposition | Ground | Match Date | Result |
| 2 | 101* | 38 | 8 | 7 | 265.78 | Bangalore | Mohali | 06 May 2013 | Won |
| 2 | 89* | 44 | 2 | 9 | 202.27 | Hyderabad | Deccan | 11 May 2015 | Lost |
| 2 | 80* | 41 | 5 | 5 | 195.12 | Pune | Mohali | 21 April 2013 | Won |
| 1 | 66 | 29 | 8 | 3 | 227.58 | Bangalore | Bengaluru | 09 May 2014 | Won |
| 2 | 62 | 43 | 7 | 2 | 144.19 | Delhi | Mumbai | 15 April 2021 | Won |
| 2 | 59* | 40 | 5 | 3 | 147.5 | Kolkata | Kolkata | 27 March 2019 | Lost |
| 2 | 56 | 34 | 1 | 5 | 164.7 | Mumbai | Mumbai | 29 April 2013 | Lost |
| 2 | 54* | 37 | 3 | 3 | 145.94 | Chennai | Abu Dhabi | 18 April 2014 | Won |
| 2 | 54 | 30 | 1 | 5 | 180 | Rajasthan | Ahmedabad | 21 April 2015 | Won |
| 2 | 51* | 19 | 0 | 6 | 268.41 | Rajasthan | Sharjah | 20 April 2014 | Won |
| 2 | 51* | 26 | 5 | 2 | 196.15 | Chennai | Chennai | 02 May 2013 | Lost |
On the other hand, Chris Morris guided Rajasthan to a sensational win as he scored an unbeaten 36 off just 18 balls. His strike rate of 200 is the fourth-best in an innings so far (with min. 25 runs scored).
| Player | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR | Team | Opposition | Ground | Match Date |
| D Hooda | 64 | 28 | 4 | 6 | 228.57 | Punjab | Rajasthan | Mumbai | 12 April 2021 |
| R Parag | 25 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 227.27 | Rajasthan | Punjab | Mumbai | 12 April 2021 |
| S Curran | 34 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 226.66 | Chennai | Delhi | Mumbai | 10 April 2021 |
| C Morris | 36* | 18 | 0 | 4 | 200.00 | Rajasthan | Delhi | Mumbai | 15 April 2021 |
| J Buttler | 25 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 192.3 | Rajasthan | Punjab | Mumbai | 12 April 2021 |
Rajasthan pacers restrict Delhi to paltry score
Earlier in the game, left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat took three early wickets to rattle the Delhi top-order as Rajasthan restricted the vaunted Delhi batting line-up to 147/8 in 20 overs.
The Rajasthan pacers bowled some tight lines as a result not a single six was hit in Delhi’s batting innings.
On the contrary, seven sixes were smashed by the Rajasthan batters in their run chase.
Pacers comparison
| Rajasthan | Metrics | Delhi |
| 15 | Overs | 16.4 |
| 104 | Runs | 134 |
| 38 | Dots | 42 |
| 6 | Wickets | 7 |
| 6.93 | Economy | 8.04 |
| 14/0 | 4s/6s | 12/7 |
| 3 | Extra | 1 |
Featured photo: IPL/BCCI
