IPL 2025: The Difference between DC and RR was: Starc and Stark

Even in the nuance-less slambang T20 game, there is some place for art.

And it was on full display last night at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.  Delivering it was not a spinner, but a mean, lean pace bowler from Australia.

The way the gangling left-arm speedster Mitchell Starc kept nailing those yorkers and choking the clueless RR batsmen in the final over, and the super over, was verily poetry. Savage poetry, if you will, as the pace was brutal and relentless.  

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His exceptional performance in the final over of regulation play took the match to the Super Over, where again he was again sensational to help Delhi Capitals secure an improbable win.

The final phase of Starc's bowling last night deserves to be looked into in detail. Rajasthan Royals needed 9 runs off the final over to chase down DC's total of 188. At the crease were Indian international Dhru Jurel and West Indian Shimron Hetmyer, the designated finisher in RR ranks.

Normally in such situations, with the needed runs in single digit in the final over and plenty of wickets to spare, you would back the batting team to pull it off. 

But the difference between the two teams last night was both Starc and stark.  

Starc kept delivering precision yorkers at will, a skill that is impossible to sustain. His first ball of the last over was a pinpoint to-crusher that Hetmyer dig out barely, hit, resulting in a single. The second ball was yet another yorker, but Jurel somehow put bat for a single.  Hetmyer managed to slice the third delivery and hare down for a couple. The fourth was a low full toss to Hetmyer that again resulted in a double. Starc zoned in on the blockbole, and Hetmyer eked out a single. Five deliveries, not a single boundary. A rarity in T20. 

Now 2 was needed for victory, the odds still favoured RR. 

But Starc was a man possessed. He again zeroed in another yorker with the preciseness of a military bomber that Jurel barely managed to hit. He ran helter-skelter for one, but the second run wasn't on, and he was run out by Axar Patel's sharp throw to the keeper, tying the match.

Starc conceded just 8 runs in the over, finishing with figures of 4-0-36-1. But cold statistics hide a dramatic story. 

But the Aussie wasn't done yet. The DC think-tank had no second thoughts in going with him for the super over. This time facing him were Hetmyer and Ryan Parag.

The first delivery, surprise-surprise, a yorker. Hetmyer couldn't handle it, resulting in a dot ball. The second was a low full-toss that Hetmyer flailed his bat at. At last, a boundary as the ball ran between deep-midwicket and deep long-on  

Third ball, again a yorker, and Hetmyer could manage a single. Parag on strike now. Oh holy god, it was no-ball But the low full-toss was anyway sliced for four by the desperate Parag.

And now came the free hit, Starc was under pressure. He could still lose it for DC. He then let one to zip down the leg, a wide for sure. But Parag seemed distracted as he just watched the ball and forgot the fact that a single could be scampered. But Hetmyer had already scurried down the pitch. Parag tried to reach the other end, but to no avail. RR's game awareness, the lack of it, cost it dearly there.

The fifth ball was a low full-toss, but Yeshasvi Jaiswal was run out going for a non-existent second run.

Five balls, two run outs, one bowling master class. The super over was done and dusted.

Starc bowled 8 yorkers across the final over and Super Over, showcasing his precision under pressure.  Starc later said: "It’s always special to contribute in crunch moments. The Super Over is all about staying calm and sticking to your strengths."

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