A Night at Kotla That No One Saw Coming

Ever watched a match that made you forget to breathe? Yeah, that was Delhi Capitals vs Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. I mean, we’ve all seen close games in the IPL, but this one? It had chaos, class, and one heck of a clutch finish.

Let me take you through what felt less like a cricket match and more like a rollercoaster with no seatbelts.

The Calm Before the Storm: DC's 188 – A Ticking Time Bomb

DC batted first. Not their usual 220+ fireworks at the Kotla, but they ended with a spicy 188 for 5.

And honestly? It didn’t look like they'd even get there.

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  Abishek Porel gave the team a flying start with 49 off 37.
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  KL Rahul, yes, you read that right—now in DC blue—played a mature (though slow) knock of 38 off 32.
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  Then came the late push: Axar Patel’s fiery 34 off 14 and Tristan Stubbs’ unbeaten 34 off 18.

Sandeep Sharma’s final over? A 23-run gift box, full of wides and a dropped sitter. Delhi, from nowhere, suddenly looked like they had something to fight with.

Rajasthan’s Reply: Steady, Smooth… and Then, Mayhem

Rajasthan Royals started their chase with that classic Jos Buttler calmness. But with every wicket, the pressure began to boil.

By the time we reached the final over, they needed 9 runs with six balls left. Easy, right? Wrong. Enter Mitchell Starc.

And boy, did he deliver.

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  Yorker.
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  Dot.
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  Another tight one.
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  A scrambled single.
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  Drama.

He held his nerve like he was sipping chai in his backyard. Rajasthan? Stunned. The match? Tied at 188. And just like that, we were headed to the first Super Over of IPL 2025.

The Super Over Showdown: Starc’s Redemption Arc

We’ve seen Starc do this in World Cups, but IPL pressure? That’s a whole different beast.

Delhi handed him the ball in the Super Over, and guess what?

He gave away just 8 runs. That’s it. Pure death-bowling masterclass.

Stubbs and KL Rahul walked out to chase. Stubbs cracked the first ball for a boundary, Rahul rotated strike smartly, and in just five deliveries—game over. DC wins.

Talk about poetic justice

What This Match Tells Us

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  Mitchell Starc isn’t just a name; he’s an emotion when the stakes are high.
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  KL Rahul may not be flashy, but his calmness in crunch situations? Golden.
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  Tristan Stubbs is quietly becoming DC’s go-to finisher.
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  And finally, never write off a team defending 188 at Kotla.

Twitter Went Bonkers

From memes about Sandeep Sharma’s final over to praise for Starc’s nerves of steel, cricket Twitter exploded.

One fan tweeted: "Starc didn’t bowl an over, he wrote a poem with a leather ball." And honestly, couldn't have said it better.

 This Is Why We Love the IPL

Matches like these remind us why we cancel dinner plans, glue ourselves to the screen, and scream at every boundary or wicket. It’s not just cricket. It’s madness. It's emotion. It’s IPL.

And if this is just the start, we’re in for one unforgettable season.

FAQs

Q1: Who won the DC vs RR match in IPL 2025?

DC won the match in a Super Over after the scores were tied at 188 each.

Q2: Who was the hero in the final over?

Mitchell Starc defended 9 runs brilliantly to force a Super Over.

Q3: Who batted in the Super Over for DC ?

KL Rahul and Tristan Stubbs chased down 9 runs to seal the win.

Q4: How many runs did DC score in the Super Over?

DC chased down 9 runs in five deliveries.