IPL 2023, RR hand DC their third successive defeat: Stats

Rajasthan Royals beat Delhi Capitals in the 11th match of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) season at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati. The Royals successfully defended 199/4 despite a fruitful stand between David Warner and Lalit Yadav. Left-arm seamer Trent Boult blew up their top order. Earlier, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler scored quickfire half-centuries. Notably, DC have lost their third successive match.

DC won the toss and opted to bowl. RR were off to a flier as openers Jaiswal (60) and Buttler (79) added 98 runs. Shimron Hetmyer (39*) played a fine cameo toward the end. Boult dismissed Prithvi Shaw and Manish Pandey initially and later completed his three-fer. DC fell 57 runs short (142/8) as Warner (65) and Lalit Yadav (38) were the only positives.

Jaiswal slammed 60 off mere 31 deliveries (11 fours, one six). This was his second fifty of the season as he smashed 54 in RR's opener versus Sunrisers Hyderabad. Jaiswal has now raced to 672 runs in the competition in 26 games. While the southpaw's average in the competition reads 25.85, his strike rate reads 139.42. This was his fifth IPL fifty.

Like Jaiswal, Buttler also smothered his second half-century of the season. He ended up scoring 79 off mere 51 deliveries (11 fours, one six). Meanwhile, the dasher, who won the Orange Cap last season, has now raced to 2,983 runs in 85 games at 40.31 (SR: 151.03). The tally includes 17 fifties and five tons. Only Chris Gayle (6) boasts more IPL centuries.

Jaiswal now owns the record of scoring the joint-fourth-most runs in the opening over of an IPL match (20). He equaled Chris Gayle (twice) and Adam Gilchrist in this regard. Prithvi Shaw (24), Naman Ojha (21), and Sunil Narine (21) are ahead of him. Overall, he became the 13th batter to slam five or more boundaries in an over in IPL.

Notably, Buttler and Jaiswal added 98 runs for the opening wicket. This is now their highest partnership in the IPL. Overall, the pair has accumulated 566 runs in 17 innings together at an average of 33.39. They have been involved in 50-plus partnerships five times.

Warner, who played a sluggish knock (65 off 55 balls), became the third batter to complete 6,000 runs in the IPL. He is only behind Virat Kohli (6,727) and Shikhar Dhawan (6,370) in the run-scoring charts. Warner is the first foreign batter to reach this rare IPL milestone. The only other foreign batter to score 5,000-plus runs in the IPL is AB de Villiers.

Warner, who played his 165th inning, became the fastest to complete 6,000 runs in the IPL. Kohli reached the milestone in 188 innings, whereas Dhawan unlocked this achievement in 199 innings.

Warner led from the front with a defiant fifty but failed to get DC home. His knock drew some criticism too as he took 44 balls to touch the 50-run mark. Nevertheless, it was Warner's 57th fifty in the IPL. The Australian opener now has 61 fifty-plus scores in the cash-rich league. Kohli and Dhawan own the joint-second spot with 50 such scores.