Smith explains reasons behind Royals' defeat

DC bowlers varied their pace nicely, we weren't able to deal with that, says Steve Smith after defeat

Skipper Steve Smith of the Rajasthan Royals who were defeated by Delhi Capitals, said his team failed to deal with the opposition's bowlers, who varied their pace nicely.

Delhi Capitals secured a 13-run win against Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, in Dubai, on Wednesday. Delhi Capitals posted a target of 162 runs before their bowlers restricted Rajasthan Royals on 148 runs.

"We thought we bowled well at the backend and restricted them to 160-odd, that was probably around par on this wicket. And the opening partnership got us ahead in the game but we couldn't extend those partnerships, boys were getting in and getting out, not going on to make 50 or 60," Smith said during the post-match presentation.

"It has been the trend in the tournament, the boys that have the air speed have had the most success, Jofra (Archer) has been great for us and same with (Anrich) Nortje and (Kagiso) Rabada for Delhi. They changed things around tonight by bowling with pace, taking pace off and varying it nicely, we weren't able to deal with that. We are not in the greatest position at the moment, so need to move on from this and hopefully come back with a big game in three days' time," he added.

Tushar Deshpande and Anrich Nortje both picked two wickets each to help Delhi Capitals win the match. Also, during the match, Nortje bowled the fastest delivery in the history of the tournament, clocking a speed of 156.22 km/h.

With this win, Delhi Capitals have also claimed the top spot on the points table with 12 points from eight matches.