IPL: Proteas talent Tristan Stubbs stars in Delhi Captials' Super Over victory

In a contest brimming with drama, momentum swings, and high-quality cricket, it was the Capitals who held their nerve in crunch moments to defend a competitive 188/5. The performance was capped off by a sensational display from Player of the Match Mitchell Starc, whose death bowling mastery and ice-cold execution in the Super Over sealed a much-needed win for the hosts.

Delhi Capitals were off to a flying start thanks to Abishek Porel, who took the attack to Tushar Deshpande with a 23-run over to set the tone early. However, Jake Fraser-McGurk's lean patch continued, falling cheaply to Jofra Archer. In-form Karun Nair walked in next but was undone by a terrible mix-up with Porel.

KL Rahul then joined Porel as DC ended the powerplay at 46/2. Their 63-run partnership came to a close when Shimron Hetmyer plucked a brilliant catch in the deep to dismiss Rahul for a fluent 38 off 22. In the very next over, Porel fell agonisingly short of his half-century, dismissed for 49 off 37.

DC skippper Axar Patel and Stubbs then took charge, with Axar particularly aggressive against spin. His 34 off just 14 balls featured clean hitting, including back-to-back boundaries off Theekshana before falling to him the same over.

Chasing 189, Rajasthan Royals got off to a rollicking start as openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson came out all guns blazing. Jaiswal, in particular, displayed a blend of elegance and brute power - a standout moment being a stunning straight six off Mukesh Kumar. He followed it up by tearing into Starc for 19 runs in the third over.

The Royals looked set for a dominant chase, their skipper was forced to retire hurt due to an injury in the 6th over. Despite the setback, RR ended the powerplay at an imposing 63/0.Riyan Parag joined Jaiswal but didn't last long, falling to a peach from Patel. Jaiswal continued fluently and brought up his third fifty of the season before falling for 51 (37) to Kuldeep Yadav, who dragged DC back into the contest.

A costly drop by Stubbs off Nitish Rana in the 15th over proved pivotal. Capitalising on the reprieve, Rana played a mature hand, stitching together a vital partnership with Dhruv Jurel. Rana targeted the spinners expertly, bringing up his second fifty of the campaign before Starc trapped him LBW with a cracking delivery for 51 (28).

With Jurel and Hetmyer going strong in, RR were in sight of victory. But a stunning boundary save by Sameer Rizvi and a masterclass final over from Starc - comprising six precise yorkers with just nine needed - pushed the game into a Super Over.

Starc returned for the Super Over and was once again sensational, conceding just 11 runs while effecting two crucial run-outs. Chasing 12, KL Rahul and Stubbs held their nerve. After Rahul smashed a boundary over third man and ran a single, Stubbs sealed the win in emphatic fashion with a towering six over mid-wicket, scripting a memorable heist for the Capitals.

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