How Unadkat wrecked havoc with the ball against Delhi Capitals

Rajasthan Royals seamer Jaydev Unadkat was extremely satisfied with a perfectly-laid trap for the in-form Prithvi Shaw as his dismissal triggered a top-order collapse from which Delhi Capitals eventually failed to recover.

Unadkat bowled a match-winning spell of 3/15 as he dismissed Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane with clever variations of pace on a tricky pitch.

Asked about the strategy employed to dismiss Shaw, Unadkat said:"We had a couple of plans in place for Prithvi. He played really well last game and you know he tries to hit it down the ground a lot."

Shaw got a leading edge as he tried to flick the left-arm pacer on the leg side and was caught by David Miller at point.

"If you have a protection down there (straight field), you know the batsman would obviously try and do something new. Be it Prithvi or anyone else, if the ball is doing something, then you will try and go out of your way and try to play a shot, which I think eventually he did and lucky to get as we get in that over itself," he said.

Being able to execute a strategy in a manner one wants is extremely satisfying, an emotion that the often-panned Unadkat felt after his match-winning spell against Delhi Capitals.

Unadkat also made a handy contribution with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 11 off 7 balls to support Chris Morris, who smashed an unbeaten 36 from 18 balls, to power Royals to victory.

"So happy to have contributed to the game and happy for myself that I was able to execute what I wanted and how I wanted to do," Unadkat said after the match.

A domestic stalwart for Saurashtra, Unadkat's IPL career has been inconsistent at best and he has often been a subject of harsh trolling in past years when his performance didn't match his million dollar price tag.

Infact, he was also not included for the Royals' opening game against Punjab Kings.

"It's always about just one good game and I knew that when my opportunity will come, I will have to be right up there in terms of my performance and happy to have contributed today," the left-arm pacer said.

Unadkat stated that the Wankhede pitch wasn't as much on the slower side as it looked.

"It wasn't on the slower side. If you would see the stats, it was just about four or five slower balls that that I bowled in the Powerplay. It seemed more because I got wickets on those balls.

"I think it was seaming a little as there was a little moisture in the wicket to start with. The pace (of the deck) increased as the game progressed. That's why it was still seaming when they came into bowl."

Rajasthan Royals seamer Jaydev Unadkat was extremely satisfied with a perfectly-laid trap for the in-form Prithvi Shaw as his dismissal triggered a top-order collapse from which Delhi Captals eventually failed to recover.

• IPL 2021