Last Updated:
From lacking awareness at the crease to bizarre substitutions, the Rajasthan Royals lost the plot in the Super Over while the Delhi Capitals held their nerve to seal a gritty and historic win.
RR lost the plot when it mattered the most, while DC got the job done with composure (AFP)
What could have been nothing more than a routine finish to a game ended up turning into a nightmare for the Rajasthan Royals, who slumped to a crushing defeat in IPL 2025’s first Super Over against the Delhi Capitals on Wednesday.
RR Failing To Cross The Line Against DC
DC did their damage, opting to bat first in the match, putting up a solid 188 runs on the board with quickfire contributions from all over the batting order: from Abhishek Porel to Ashutosh Sharma.
Chasing 189, the Rajasthan Royals effortlessly cruised after Sanju Samson’s dynamic start and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s explosive assault. Fifties by Jaiswal and Nitish Rana nudged the visitors within sight of victory as it ulitmately boiled down to the final over.
Needing nine runs off six balls, with six wickets to spare, the stage was set for RR to waltz into an easy win. But, DC’s Mitchell Starc had other plans.
The fiery Starc delivered on an absolute stunner of a final over against the Royals, anchored by Shimron Hetmeyer at that moment, notching five perfect yorkers out of six as RR failed to cross the finish line (thanks to a wicket+1 run in the final ball when 2 runs were needed to win).
Hence, we arrived at the first Super Over of the IPL 2025, where things went awry for RR.
What Unfolded In The Super Over
Rajasthan Royals Setting The Target
Knowing that Starc was waiting patiently to work his magic with the ball yet again, many expected the Royals to open with their best options: half-centurions Nitish Rana or Yashasvi Jaiswal, alongside their pinch-hitter Hetmeyer.
But in a bizarre move, the Royals sent out Riyan Parag alongside Hetmeyer — one they would go on to regret.
Starc started off fiery hot, bowling a tricky scorcher down the leg-stump, tempting Hetmeyer to take a swing and miss completely.
The Windies’ hard-hitter, though, would find his stride in the next delivery, clobbering Starc’s misplaced yorker over deep mid-wicket for a four to open the scoring sheet for RR.
Starc would showcase his variation in his hunt to hit the perfect fiery yorker, allowing Hetmeyer to get off strike with a mere single in the next ball, as Parag was tasked with facing the Aussie next.
The young Indian though would find the lucky thick outside-edge off a loose full-toss, from the DC pacer, to find the boundary over backward point.
Chaos would then ensue next for DC, as Starc’s delivery would be deemed a no-ball for landing his back foot on the return crease, gifting RR a free-hit: one that would go horribly wrong for the Men in Pink.
Starc opted to go wide again, prompting another empty swing from Parag, who would then indulge in an ill-timed run due to Hetmeyer and get run out with ease on the bowler’s end by Starc (thanks to KL Rahul’s quick thinking), thereby paving the way for Jaiswal up next.
Hetmeyer then aimed to go big but completely fluffed the pull off the lower full-toss from Starc, embarking on another ill-timed second run, leading to Jaiswal getting run out on the other end this time around.
A lack of awareness would be the Achilles heel for RR, who would end their Super Over by setting a meagre target of just 12 runs for DC.
Delhi Capitals’ Calm And Collected Finish
In yet another bizarre move that would make all question the intentions of the Royals, they would finally bring in their Impact Substitute Shubham Dubey in for Maheesh Theeshana, just to field for one last over.
RR would then opt for experience over pace against DC’s KL Rahul and Tristan Stubbs, as the ball went to the hands of the IPL veteran Sandeep Sharma over English pacer Jofra Archer.
Sandeep would start off well with a slower ball, which would be swiped at by a frantic Rahul to muster a precarious two runs: one that could have easily dismissed Rahul, if a good throw were in place from Jaiswal.
Being aware of Sandeep’s repertoire of slower balls, Rahul would gauge the RR pacer’s next delivery perfectly, moving away from the leg-stump to confidently slap it over deep backward point for a four, to cut the target down to just 6 runs off the remaining 4 balls.
Rahul would try to go for glory, but end up settling for a single in the next delivery, thereby allowing Protean Stubbs to take his swipe at the target.
Needing 5 runs off 3 balls, Stubbs would waste no time, as he walloped Sandeep’s slower ball outside off, over deep mid-wicket with a mammoth pull to clear the boundaries altogether and lead Delhi Capitals to their fifth victory of the season.
The victory against RR also marked DC’s fourth win in five Super Overs (that they’ve played in the IPL), breaking the record for winning the most Super Overs in the league’s history.
