Revised target made it difficult for us: Gambhir

Royals pip Daredevils by 10 runs in rain-hit game

Delhi Daredevils captain Gautam Gambhir said the revised target during their rain-hit Indian Premier League match against Rajasthan Royals was a difficult one to chase.

Chasing 70 runs in six overs via the Duckworth-Lewis Method in a rain-truncated clash Wednesday night, Delhi suffered a 10-run defeat against the hosts.

Earlier, Rajasthan rode on Ajinkya Rahane's 45 to score 153/5 when the skies opened up in the 17th over.

"We were very much in the game. It was a beautiful wicket to bat on, then 150 odd for five in 18 overs, we thought we could contain them to 170 and it was chaseable, especially with dew coming in later on," Gambhir said after the match.

"We were very much happy with the first innings. But then in six overs, 71 was tough. We had to go from ball one. Obviously with these sort of games, things could go either way. Just two overs of Powerplay, it's very difficult," the southpaw added.

Sanju Samson, who was adjudged man of the match for for his quick 22-ball 37, expressed pleasure on his team's first win in the tournament.

"Feels really amazing. We wanted a win badly at our home ground and it feels good to get our first win of the season," the 23-year-old said.

Rajasthan overcame a shaky start and were on course to post a competitive total before heavy rain lashed the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

Intermittent rain led to a two and a half hour stoppage before umpires gave their go ahead for a shortened game. The visitors made a disastrous start with Colin Munro run out off the first ball of the innings following a mix-up with Glenn Maxwell (17 off 12).

Royals' attack comprising pacers Ben Laughlin and Dhawal Kulkarni bowled well and kept the Daredevils batsmen guessing with their variations.

With Rishabh Pant (20 off 14) gone in the penultimate over, Royals needed to defend 25 runs in the final over. Laughlin (2/20) did that pretty comfortably. It was a second straight loss for Daredevils.

Earlier, captain Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson staged the Royals' recovery before Jos Buttler (29 off 18) and Rahul Tripathi (15 off 11) provided entertainment towards the end.

Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem (2/34) made a significant impact in his first game of the season, taking two crucial wickets.