New Delhi [India], April 25 : Following Delhi Capitals (DC)'s loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), DC's Director of Cricket, Venugopal Rao, gave an update on the availability of pacer Mitchell Starc, saying that the Australian is available for the May 1 clash against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at Jaipur.
Despite a record-breaking 152* from KL Rahul, a poor bowling effort from DC caused them to fail at defending a monstrous total of 265 runs, with half-centuries from Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer central to the highest T20 cricket run-chase in history, a record which PBKS had made two years back and once again established in their unbeaten run this year.
Speaking during the post-match presser, Venugopal said about Starc, "Cricket Australia has given a report. From 1st May onwards, he is available. We will wait and see the combination."
The latest update means Starc will miss out on the clash against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at home on May 27. Last season for DC, he took 14 wickets at an average of 26.14 and an economy rate of 10.16, with a five-wicket haul to his name.
Starc's arrival was announced by DC today on their social media.
Starc, who has retired from T20Is, had a lengthy layoff due to shoulder and elbow issues and heavy workload during the Ashes series at home, in which he played a key role with 31 wickets in the match and some crucial runs with the bat, including two fifties.
His presence during a critical time of DC's campaign will serve as a boost to the pace of the attack. So far, Mukesh Kumar, Aquib Nabi Dar and T Natrajan have been DC's key pacers from Indian ranks, while South Africa's Lungi Ngidi, injured during this clash against PBKS, brings the much-needed overseas star power and experience.
With this win, PBKS stand unbeaten with six wins and a no result, giving them 13 points. DC is in sixth spot, with three wins and four losses, giving them six points. PBKS broke their record of chasing down 262 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 2024 season.
Coming to the match, after DC opted to bat first, an entertaining 220-run second-wicket stand between KL Rahul (152* in 67 balls, with 16 fours and nine sixes) and Nitish Rana (91* in 44 balls, with 11 fours and four sixes) took DC to 264/2.
PBKS did not put their weapons down either, as Priyansh Arya (43 in 17 balls, with two fours and five sixes) and Prabhsimran (76 in 26 balls, with nine fours and five sixes) shaved off 116 runs in the powerplay, later, Shreyas (71* in 36 balls, with three fours and seven sixes) put partnerships with Nehal Wadhera (25) and Shashank Singh (19*), completing the chase in 18.5 overs with six wickets left.
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