It’s been a little over a week since we played our first ever IPL Final, and we know we speak for all DC fans when we say that we aren’t getting over the 2020 Dream11 IPL anytime soon. It wasn’t the perfect ending, but the journey was indeed a special one in many ways.
Choosing some of our best on-field moments was a difficult task in itself, and ranking them was an impossible one. If it were up to us, we’d rank all of the moments we’ve listed at #1. Which is why we’ll take you through these moments chronologically. So here goes…
Match 1, DC vs KXIP - Stoinis and Rabada Pull a Rabbit out of the Hat
Kings XI Punjab have almost snatched victory from the jaws of defeat courtesy of a blinder from Mayank Agarwal. The opener has somehow lifted his side from 55/5 to 157/6. Just one run is required from three deliveries and Mayank is batting on 89 from 58.
Marcus Stoinis, who had already saved us with a back-against-the-wall counter-attacking fifty, bowls a dot and then follows it up with the wicket of Agarwal on the penultimate ball. With one needed off one, Jordan times one straight to Kagiso Rabada at square leg who takes a screamer of a reflex catch to force a Super Over and send the DC squad into celebration mode with feelings of relief, disbelief and ecstasy.
RT if you would sign a petition for a @MStoinis statue outside Dubai International Cricket Stadium 🔁#DCvKXIP #Dream11IPL #IPL2020 #YehHaiNayiDilli
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) September 20, 2020
Match 1, DC vs KXIP - Rabada Does Rabada Things
How often do you start a long tournament with a Super Over? And if you do, you’ve got to count yourself incredibly lucky to have Kagiso Rabada in your team to throw the ball to without any contemplation or hesitation. KG got rid of KL Rahul with a short ball and then bowled Nicholas Pooran to leave us with just three runs to get in the Super Over.
Unforgettable would be an understatement for a game like this one to open our Dream11 IPL campaign.
Match 4, DC vs KKR - “Look ma, no look!” - Shreyas Iyer, probably
When Shreyas Iyer takes his helmet off against the spinners, his intentions are very clear. He loves taking the attack to them, and he’s pretty good at that. The head stays down, while the ball sails over the ropes. Over the years, he’s made that shot a trademark of his and we got to see the ‘no-look’ six executed to absolute perfection 11.4 overs into the first innings, as a Varun Chakravarthy delivery was smashed outside the Sharjah Stadium. Shreyas Iyer went on to notch up his fastest fifty in the IPL and score a scintillating 88* from just 38 balls in another DC victory.
Match 4, DC vs KKR - Rabada vs Russell: The Sequel
Kagiso Rabada castling Andre Russell with a pinpoint yorker at searing pace in a Super Over was one of the most memorable moments of the 2019 IPL season. When the two sides met again for the first time in IPL 2020, Shreyas Iyer brought Rabada back into the attack in the over right after Andre Russell walked in to bat.
The big man connected a couple of meaty blows before Rabada roared back with a quick short ball to dismiss him and ensure that the Rabada vs Russell sequel had a similar climax.
Match 5, RCB vs DC - Ashwin’s ‘Mind It!’ Moment
“He (Finch) asked me if I warned him officially, and I said ‘I just stared at you,’ “ said Ravichandran Ashwin in a light-hearted chat with Kagiso Rabada after the game against RCB. The Bangalore opener had backed up way too far and the warning for the Mankad was well warranted apart from being one of the most entertaining on-field sequences in the 2020 edition.
Ashwin took it one step ahead on Twitter that very night. Turns out, the warning wasn’t just for Aaron Finch. But as always, it was one with typical Ravi Ashwin wit and humour.
Let’s make it clear !! First and final warning for 2020. I am making it official and don’t blame me later on. @RickyPonting #runout #nonstriker @AaronFinch5 and I are good buddies btw.😂😂 #IPL2020
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) October 5, 2020
Match 6, RR vs DC - Ashwin vs Buttler Part II
Pre-match conversations were dominated by the prospect of a mouth-watering Ashwin vs Buttler battle, and why wouldn’t they? It was one of the world’s most explosive batters versus one of the world’s cleverest tweakers, not to mention all the history with the Mankad in IPL 2019.
It wasn’t anticlimactic in the slightest, but the battle lasted just three balls. Ashwin got the better of Buttler in his very first over with Shikhar Dhawan taking a fine diving catch at square leg. Gabbar’s Thigh-5 came out, Ashwin leapt in celebration, and our DC Admin took the opportunity to tweet with tongue in cheek.
He can get him at the striker's end, he can get him at the non-striker's end 😉#RRvDC #Dream11IPL #IPL2020 #YehHaiNayiDilli https://t.co/klytcLC0HL pic.twitter.com/IbXhzZsrPu
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) October 9, 2020
Match 8, DC vs RR - Anrich Nortje, Sabse Tez!
Chasing 162 for a win, the Rajasthan Royals were off to a flier. Anrich Nortje ran in to bowl the third over of the innings, one that arguably became the over of the IPL.
Ball 1, 148.2 kmph - Buttler lofts Nortje over long on for a massive six.
Ball 2, 152.3 kmph - Full. Straight. Fast. One leg bye.
Ball 3, 152.1 kmph - Stokes hands the strike back to Buttler.
Ball 4, 146.4 kmph - Buttler walks across his stumps and ramps Nortje over short fine leg.
Ball 5, 156.2 kmph - Buttler nonchalantly scoops the fastest delivery of IPL 2020 for another four.
Ball 6, 155.4 kmph - Fast and Furious. Anrich Nortje attacks the stumps at breakneck pace and succeeds in going past Jos Buttler’s defences to disturb the woodwork.
P.S. Kudos to the shutterbug who captured this strut right after Anrich Nortje had the last laugh.
Match 8, DC vs RR - When Your Maiden IPL Wicket Leaves You ‘Stoked’
Tushar Deshpande stood at the top of his mark to bowl the 11th over with the Royals in cruise control. Ben Stokes was well-set on 41, and they required just 77 from the second half of the innings with eight wickets in hand.
A well-disguised slower one foxed Ben Stokes as he holed out at long on. The debutant Tushar Deshpande and substitute Lalit Yadav had combined to dismiss the world’s premier all-rounder to turn the tides in our favour. Maiden wickets don’t come much better than that.
Match 8, DC vs RR - ‘Ajinkya’ in the Field
Yes, we realize that this is the third moment we’ve chosen from the same match. But, there’s no way we could have left this out.
The Royals needed 29 from 18 balls before Rabada and Nortje bowled splendidly to leave Tushar Deshpande 22 to defend in the last over. The debutant bowled a wide first up. Nerves?
Tewatia smashed the first legal ball of the final over to long off and it looked like it might go over the ropes. To DC fans’ delight, the camera panned to Ajinkya Rahane running back and leaping at the boundary to catch the ball, before throwing it back onto the field of play mid-air. He didn’t just save a crucial six, he kept it down to a single and ensured that Tewatia didn’t get back on strike to face the next ball. We went on to win the game by 13 runs, and Rahane’s incredible effort had a lot to do with that.
Match 9, DC vs CSK - ‘The celebrations can wait.’ ft. Gabbar
We are chasing 180 against Chennai at Sharjah. It’s the last ball of the 19th over, and Dhawan has knocked a single to long on to bring up his first century in the IPL and in T20s. The dugout stands to applaud an incredible effort. But Shikhar Dhawan hasn’t so much as raised his bat to acknowledge his own milestone. With 17 still required off the final over, he knows there’s still a job to do.
As Axar Patel’s third six off Jadeja soared into the stands, Shikhar’s helmet came off and the arms went aloft in signature Gabbar fashion. Shikhar Dhawan finally celebrated what was a special, special century.
Match 9, DC vs CSK - Axar Goes BANG, BANG, BANG!
Axar Patel found himself on strike against his counterpart Ravindra Jadeja with us still needing 15 runs from just five deliveries to do a double over the Chennai Super Kings and earn an important two points. What followed was the stuff of legend.
The second ball of the over went over the mid-wicket fence and the third went over the cover fence. Axar was showing his range even under immense pressure. Two came off the next delivery to leave us with just one run needed for victory. He wasn’t going to knock the winning runs over with a single. The southpaw hit his third and biggest six of the over on the roof at Sharjah to complete a famous win. Axar Patel had made a telling impact with the bat.
Qualifier 2, DC vs SRH - Stoin, Smash!
In a do-or-die encounter with a spot in the Dream11 IPL Final at stake, Marcus Stoinis walked out with Shikhar Dhawan to open the innings. There was a lot of pressure on the openers after a string of bad starts, and the duo began their innings cautiously.
But when Jason Holder came on to bowl the fourth over of the innings, Big Stoin decided to put his muscles to use and opened up his shoulders in spectacular fashion. The onslaught started with a blistering pull shot that absolutely rocketed to the ropes. He danced down the track and smashed the white ball straight down the ground for the second boundary off the over. He followed it up with a disdainful six over mid-wicket and cut through backward point.
Stoinis had taken charge with an 18-run over and the momentum was well and truly with the DC boys. There was just no looking back from there.
Well, it was a long list of some top DC moments after a top tournament. Did we forget to include any of your favourite moments from an exceptional IPL 2020 campaign? Let us know!
It’s been a little over a week since we played our first ever IPL Final, and we know we speak for all DC fans when we say that we aren’t getting over the 2020 Dream11 IPL anytime soon. It wasn’t the perfect ending, but the journey was indeed a special one in many ways.
Choosing some of our best on-field moments was a difficult task in itself, and ranking them was an impossible one. If it were up to us, we’d rank all of the moments we’ve listed at #1. Which is why we’ll take you through these moments chronologically. So here goes…
Match 1, DC vs KXIP - Stoinis and Rabada Pull a Rabbit out of the Hat
Kings XI Punjab have almost snatched victory from the jaws of defeat courtesy of a blinder from Mayank Agarwal. The opener has somehow lifted his side from 55/5 to 157/6. Just one run is required from three deliveries and Mayank is batting on 89 from 58.
Marcus Stoinis, who had already saved us with a back-against-the-wall counter-attacking fifty, bowls a dot and then follows it up with the wicket of Agarwal on the penultimate ball. With one needed off one, Jordan times one straight to Kagiso Rabada at square leg who takes a screamer of a reflex catch to force a Super Over and send the DC squad into celebration mode with feelings of relief, disbelief and ecstasy.
RT if you would sign a petition for a @MStoinis statue outside Dubai International Cricket Stadium 🔁#DCvKXIP #Dream11IPL #IPL2020 #YehHaiNayiDilli
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) September 20, 2020
Match 1, DC vs KXIP - Rabada Does Rabada Things
How often do you start a long tournament with a Super Over? And if you do, you’ve got to count yourself incredibly lucky to have Kagiso Rabada in your team to throw the ball to without any contemplation or hesitation. KG got rid of KL Rahul with a short ball and then bowled Nicholas Pooran to leave us with just three runs to get in the Super Over.
Unforgettable would be an understatement for a game like this one to open our Dream11 IPL campaign.
Match 4, DC vs KKR - “Look ma, no look!” - Shreyas Iyer, probably
When Shreyas Iyer takes his helmet off against the spinners, his intentions are very clear. He loves taking the attack to them, and he’s pretty good at that. The head stays down, while the ball sails over the ropes. Over the years, he’s made that shot a trademark of his and we got to see the ‘no-look’ six executed to absolute perfection 11.4 overs into the first innings, as a Varun Chakravarthy delivery was smashed outside the Sharjah Stadium. Shreyas Iyer went on to notch up his fastest fifty in the IPL and score a scintillating 88* from just 38 balls in another DC victory.
Match 4, DC vs KKR - Rabada vs Russell: The Sequel
Kagiso Rabada castling Andre Russell with a pinpoint yorker at searing pace in a Super Over was one of the most memorable moments of the 2019 IPL season. When the two sides met again for the first time in IPL 2020, Shreyas Iyer brought Rabada back into the attack in the over right after Andre Russell walked in to bat.
The big man connected a couple of meaty blows before Rabada roared back with a quick short ball to dismiss him and ensure that the Rabada vs Russell sequel had a similar climax.
Match 5, RCB vs DC - Ashwin’s ‘Mind It!’ Moment
“He (Finch) asked me if I warned him officially, and I said ‘I just stared at you,’ “ said Ravichandran Ashwin in a light-hearted chat with Kagiso Rabada after the game against RCB. The Bangalore opener had backed up way too far and the warning for the Mankad was well warranted apart from being one of the most entertaining on-field sequences in the 2020 edition.
Ashwin took it one step ahead on Twitter that very night. Turns out, the warning wasn’t just for Aaron Finch. But as always, it was one with typical Ravi Ashwin wit and humour.
Let’s make it clear !! First and final warning for 2020. I am making it official and don’t blame me later on. @RickyPonting #runout #nonstriker @AaronFinch5 and I are good buddies btw.😂😂 #IPL2020
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) October 5, 2020
Match 6, RR vs DC - Ashwin vs Buttler Part II
Pre-match conversations were dominated by the prospect of a mouth-watering Ashwin vs Buttler battle, and why wouldn’t they? It was one of the world’s most explosive batters versus one of the world’s cleverest tweakers, not to mention all the history with the Mankad in IPL 2019.
It wasn’t anticlimactic in the slightest, but the battle lasted just three balls. Ashwin got the better of Buttler in his very first over with Shikhar Dhawan taking a fine diving catch at square leg. Gabbar’s Thigh-5 came out, Ashwin leapt in celebration, and our DC Admin took the opportunity to tweet with tongue in cheek.
He can get him at the striker's end, he can get him at the non-striker's end 😉#RRvDC #Dream11IPL #IPL2020 #YehHaiNayiDilli https://t.co/klytcLC0HL pic.twitter.com/IbXhzZsrPu
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) October 9, 2020
Match 8, DC vs RR - Anrich Nortje, Sabse Tez!
Chasing 162 for a win, the Rajasthan Royals were off to a flier. Anrich Nortje ran in to bowl the third over of the innings, one that arguably became the over of the IPL.
Ball 1, 148.2 kmph - Buttler lofts Nortje over long on for a massive six.
Ball 2, 152.3 kmph - Full. Straight. Fast. One leg bye.
Ball 3, 152.1 kmph - Stokes hands the strike back to Buttler.
Ball 4, 146.4 kmph - Buttler walks across his stumps and ramps Nortje over short fine leg.
Ball 5, 156.2 kmph - Buttler nonchalantly scoops the fastest delivery of IPL 2020 for another four.
Ball 6, 155.4 kmph - Fast and Furious. Anrich Nortje attacks the stumps at breakneck pace and succeeds in going past Jos Buttler’s defences to disturb the woodwork.
P.S. Kudos to the shutterbug who captured this strut right after Anrich Nortje had the last laugh.
Match 8, DC vs RR - When Your Maiden IPL Wicket Leaves You ‘Stoked’
Tushar Deshpande stood at the top of his mark to bowl the 11th over with the Royals in cruise control. Ben Stokes was well-set on 41, and they required just 77 from the second half of the innings with eight wickets in hand.
A well-disguised slower one foxed Ben Stokes as he holed out at long on. The debutant Tushar Deshpande and substitute Lalit Yadav had combined to dismiss the world’s premier all-rounder to turn the tides in our favour. Maiden wickets don’t come much better than that.
Match 8, DC vs RR - ‘Ajinkya’ in the Field
Yes, we realize that this is the third moment we’ve chosen from the same match. But, there’s no way we could have left this out.
The Royals needed 29 from 18 balls before Rabada and Nortje bowled splendidly to leave Tushar Deshpande 22 to defend in the last over. The debutant bowled a wide first up. Nerves?
Tewatia smashed the first legal ball of the final over to long off and it looked like it might go over the ropes. To DC fans’ delight, the camera panned to Ajinkya Rahane running back and leaping at the boundary to catch the ball, before throwing it back onto the field of play mid-air. He didn’t just save a crucial six, he kept it down to a single and ensured that Tewatia didn’t get back on strike to face the next ball. We went on to win the game by 13 runs, and Rahane’s incredible effort had a lot to do with that.
Match 9, DC vs CSK - ‘The celebrations can wait.’ ft. Gabbar
We are chasing 180 against Chennai at Sharjah. It’s the last ball of the 19th over, and Dhawan has knocked a single to long on to bring up his first century in the IPL and in T20s. The dugout stands to applaud an incredible effort. But Shikhar Dhawan hasn’t so much as raised his bat to acknowledge his own milestone. With 17 still required off the final over, he knows there’s still a job to do.
As Axar Patel’s third six off Jadeja soared into the stands, Shikhar’s helmet came off and the arms went aloft in signature Gabbar fashion. Shikhar Dhawan finally celebrated what was a special, special century.
Match 9, DC vs CSK - Axar Goes BANG, BANG, BANG!
Axar Patel found himself on strike against his counterpart Ravindra Jadeja with us still needing 15 runs from just five deliveries to do a double over the Chennai Super Kings and earn an important two points. What followed was the stuff of legend.
The second ball of the over went over the mid-wicket fence and the third went over the cover fence. Axar was showing his range even under immense pressure. Two came off the next delivery to leave us with just one run needed for victory. He wasn’t going to knock the winning runs over with a single. The southpaw hit his third and biggest six of the over on the roof at Sharjah to complete a famous win. Axar Patel had made a telling impact with the bat.
Qualifier 2, DC vs SRH - Stoin, Smash!
In a do-or-die encounter with a spot in the Dream11 IPL Final at stake, Marcus Stoinis walked out with Shikhar Dhawan to open the innings. There was a lot of pressure on the openers after a string of bad starts, and the duo began their innings cautiously.
But when Jason Holder came on to bowl the fourth over of the innings, Big Stoin decided to put his muscles to use and opened up his shoulders in spectacular fashion. The onslaught started with a blistering pull shot that absolutely rocketed to the ropes. He danced down the track and smashed the white ball straight down the ground for the second boundary off the over. He followed it up with a disdainful six over mid-wicket and cut through backward point.
Stoinis had taken charge with an 18-run over and the momentum was well and truly with the DC boys. There was just no looking back from there.
Well, it was a long list of some top DC moments after a top tournament. Did we forget to include any of your favourite moments from an exceptional IPL 2020 campaign? Let us know!
