Karthik helps Delhi crush Rajasthan

Delhi Daredevils 188 for 6 (Karthik 69, Gambhir 43) beat Rajasthan Royals 121 (Mishra 3-25) by 67 runs

Dinesh Karthik hit a delightful half-century on a slow pitch to charge Delhi Daredevils to a facile win against Rajasthan Royals at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Delhi were wobbling on 67 for 4 but Karthik added 79 with Gautam Gambhir to stabilise the innings before he exploded in style to provide the perfect finish. The target proved too stiff for Rajasthan, who never got going in the chase, and Delhi moved to second position in the points table.

On a pitch that was never going to get easier to bat on, it needed a special effort from Rajasthan, and Yusuf Pathan in particular, to overhaul this target. The entire chase revolved around Pathan. Rajasthan kept him back for the middle overs, for the battle against spin, but he was forced to come in early after Farveez Maharoof toppled the top order with his slow legcutters.

Yusuf hit a couple of sixes but when he lofted a slow, loopy legbreak from Amit Mishra to long-on, the chase derailed entirely. The packed house had more moments to cherish as David Warner took four catches and affected a run out to play a hand in five dismissals.

Rajasthan's troubles in the chase highlighted the value of Karthik's innings. He looked in touch right from the start and never allowed a run-scoring opportunity to go waste. What stood out was how well he paced his innings, and the thought he put into it. He played Shane Warne with caution, realising he could always take chances against the other bowlers. He blasted Tait to the straight boundary and unfurled a pick-up shot over square leg against Trivedi, but it was in the 17th over that he really shifted gears. He swung Sumit Narwal for a straight six on bent knee and followed up with a six over long-on next ball