Tristan Stubbs brings Delhi Capitals close

Tristan Stubbs' unbeaten knock of 44* off 23 balls (including two fours and three sixes) wasn't enough to lead the Delhi Capitals to victory against the Rajasthan Royals in their IPL match on Thursday.

Unfortunately, the Capitals suffered a 12-run defeat.  

Earlier, Riyan Parag's unbeaten 84 off 45 balls propelled the Royals to a total of 185-5.

Delhi, led by Rishabh Pant, won the toss and chose to field first, maintaining a stranglehold over the game until the second half of the Royals' innings.

Rajasthan lost both their explosive openers, Yashasvi Jaiswal (5) and Jos Buttler (11), early on. Even the batting mainstay, captain Sanju Samson, failed to convert his start and fell for 15.

With the team struggling at 36-3 in the eighth over, Rajasthan brought in India's spin-bowling all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin, who formed a vital 54-run partnership with Parag.

Ashwin contributed 29 runs off 19 balls, taking the team to 90 before being dismissed in the 14th over by his India teammate Axar Patel.

Parag, who has been criticised in previous IPL seasons for his rash shot selection, maintained the scoreboard until the 17th over.

The 22-year-old formed another crucial partnership with Indian wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel (20).

Parag reached his fifty off 34 balls, hitting 25 runs with three fours and two sixes in the final over bowled by Proteas quick Anrich Nortje (1-48).

He was well-supported by West Indian Shimron Hetmyer, who scored an unbeaten 14 off seven balls.

Man-of-the-match Parag was praised by Samson.

Patel was the best bowler for Delhi, finishing with figures of 1-21 in his four-over spell.

Delhi began their chase strongly with Australian openers Mitchell Marsh and veteran David Warner.

Marsh was dismissed after scoring 23 runs off 12 balls in the fourth over by Proteas quick Nandre Burger, who also took the wicket of Ricky Bhui (0) in the same over.

However, this did not deter Warner, who led the team to a score of 59-2 at the end of the powerplay.

He was dismissed in the 12th over after scoring a well-compiled 49 off 34 balls, getting out to young Indian fast bowler Avesh Khan.

Delhi fell behind the required run rate before Stubbs launched a late innings counterattack.

Avesh bowled a tight final over to seal the win.

Yuzvendra Chahal, the leg spinner, finished his three overs with 2-19, while Burger had 2-29.

The losing captain, Pant, expressed his disappointment.

Pant, who is hoping to make a comeback to the Indian team after a long injury lay-off ahead of this summer's T20 World Cup, made 28 off 26 balls.