Tim Southee hit a four from the last ball of the match as Rajasthan Royals beat Delhi Daredevils by three wickets to secure their second Indian Premier League win of the season.
Delhi had set Rajasthan a target of 185 after making 184 for three in the first innings. Mayank Agarwal, opening the batting, started well and eventually hit 37 from 21 balls before being caught and bowled by Pravin Tambe. He was joined by Shreyas Iyer at the top of the order and he too batted impressively, hitting 40 from 30 balls.
But JP Duminy, batting at No3, and Yuvraj Singh at No4 were unable to accelerate and Delhi’s innings grew sluggish. Angelo Mathews threw his bat, clobbering 27 from 14 balls, but he did not have enough time to dominate and Delhi’s score felt under par.
Rjasthan, though, made heavy weather of a chase that should have been simpler than it was. Though Ajinkya Rahane batted well for his 47 from 39 balls, Steve Smith could only make 10 while the rest of the top order also stuttered. It was only when Deepak Hooda came in at six that their reply gained momentum and his 54 from 24 balls set up the platform for James Faulkner (17 from 11) and Chris Morris (13 from 6) to steer their side to the brink.
In the end, it all came down to the final over. Needing 12 off Mathews’ bowling, Rajasthan scraped home after Southee’s powerful cover drive secured victory.
