Some get paid to bat, I get paid to slog.
BIG MONEY MORRIS RESCUES RAJASTHAN AGAINST DELHI FOR FIRST WIN
Chris Morris hit an unbeaten 36 off 18 balls to take Rajasthan Royals to an unlikely three-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League yesterday.
Chasing 148 for victory, Rajasthan, who lost key player Ben Stokes due to a broken finger in their opening defeat on Monday, were in trouble at 1047 when David Miller got out after his blazing 62 in Mumbai.
But Morris took charge and put on an unbroken 46-run stand with Jaydev Unadkat, who hit 11, to smash four big sixes including two in the final over off Tom Curran as Rajasthan won with two balls to spare.
“There are guys that get paid to bat and guys that get paid to slog, and I know which I am,” said Morris, who became the most expensive player in IPL history when Rajasthan bought him for $2.25 million in February’s auction,
“For us to get as close on the day, we took a lot out of that first game of ours. Nice to know we can win from anywhere after being down in the dumps.”
The South African all-rounder was at the non-striker’s end on Monday when skipper Sanju Samson hit a blistering 119 but got out on the final ball as Rajasthan lost by four runs to Punjab. The 33-year-old Morris proved his worth with a wicket off his pace bowling and batting at No 8.
Pace trio in action
Delhi’s Avesh Khan claimed three wickets while Chris Woakes and Kagiso Rabada took two each. The pace trio had sent Rajasthan slipping to 42-5 before Miller’s 43-ball blitz.
“We had Miller and Morris, but I thought it was tough,” admitted Samson. “I was praying inside, Morris can you please get one six.”
Earlier, left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat took three early wickets to rattle the Delhi Capitals top-order as Rajasthan restricted the Delhi franchise to 147 for eight in 20 overs.
Unadkat removed Prithvi Shaw (2), Shikhar Dhawan (9) and Ajinkya Rahane (8) to leave Delhi at 36 for three at the end of the powerplay.
Royal’s left-arm seamer from Bangladesh, Mustafizur Rahman, then removed Marcus Stoinis (0) in his first over, which he bowled immediately after the end of powerplay.
Skipper Rishabh Pant (51 off 32 balls), however, played a timely knock to stem the rot. Pant added 51 for the fifth wicket with debutant Lalit Yadav (20 off 24 balls) as DC moved close to the 100 run-mark.
With Pant at the crease, it looked like DC would get beyond 160. However, two quick wickets put the breaks on the DC innings. Tom Curran (21 off 16 balls) and Chris Woakes (15 not out off 11 balls) took DC to their eventual score.