Gambhir: Revised target was tough

Delhi Daredevils skipper Gautam Gambhir felt that the revised target handed to his side during the rain-hit Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Rajasthan Royals was stiff to chase with just two overs of power play.

Chasing a revised target of 70 runs in six overs via the Duckworth-Lewis Method in a rain-truncated clash on Wednesday, Delhi suffered a 10-run defeat against hosts Rajasthan.

Rajasthan rode their bowlers’ good show coupled with skipper Ajinkya Rahane’s 45.

The IPL returned to the Pink City after 2013 but rain played spoilsport for the major part, forcing D/L method to come into play after the hosts were 153/5 in 17.5 overs when it started drizzling.

Delhi were given a revised target of 71 to chase in six overs but Australian pacer Ben Laughlin (2/20) picked up the wickets of Glenn Maxwell (17) and Vijay Shankar while Jaydev Unadkat (1/24) accounted for Rishabh Pant (20) to never let Delhi come close to winning in harsh circumstances.

For Delhi, left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem returned best figures of 2/34 while New Zealand pacer Trent Boult and India fast bowler Mohammad Shami also picked up a wicket apiece.

“We were very much in the game. It was a beautiful wicket to bat on, then 150odd for 5 in 18 overs, we thought we could contain them to 170 and it was chaseable, especially with dew coming in later on,” Gambhir said after the match.

Rajasthan Royals beat Delhi Daredevils by 10 runs.