IPL Pulse: Big boys, bigger bullies

Good morning, the weekend's here...

... and Delhi Capitals continue to be the enigma that they are. What else do you call a team that gets shot out for 75 and then hunts down 225 within days? Their losing streak has finally been snapped. Rajasthan Royals' weird aversion to Jaipur sees no end. The points table has a bit more parity now.

As you grab your morning coffee, we offer a bite-sized summary of the game, complete with snackable news, the latest tea, and some sprinkling of stats, all in the platter we call Pulse.

Last night in five lines

No Sooryavanshi versus Starc, for another tall quick blew away Boy Wonder

Parag lit up Jaipur with a near century, smoking out his patchy form

Fiesty Ferreira's flat-batted flourishes fueled their finish

Nissanka, Rahul powered their pursuit with a delightfully aesthetic stand

A slight hiccup aside, DC chased down their highest total ever

Oh, that happened

Kiwi guy, 31, yells at kid half his age after breaking his sticks. Now that's a disturbing headline for a non-cricket fan to come across, but it's essentially how the two-ball duel between Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Kyle Jamieson ended. First ball, full, drilled back for four. Second one, fuller, beat him for pace. Jamieson ran to the teen, hooted in joy, clapped and stared long enough to make it a disturbing memory. It's the big boys league, deal with it!

Pulse Awards

Jamieson bags the big bully award for not holding back against the schoolkid. That reaction tells you everything about Vaibhav's mental chokehold on the bowlers.

Mitchell Starc deserves the ageless wonder award for casually turning up for a cricket game after four months with three strappings, and delivering instant results

The very demure award, jointly placed in the magic palms of Nissanka & Rahul for some lip-smacking strokes, and in particular, identical swivel-pulls that were a delight to watch

Parag gets the holy smokes award for that one shot against Jamieson, stepping away and lofting him over covers. He really made the bowlers huff and puff with some stunning post-vape clarity

The icemenaward goes to Stubbs & Ashutosh for making a tricky finish look seemingly easy with breezy flicks, ramps and pulls, cruising through with nearly an over to spare

Talking point

Delhi won the game, but their bowling tactics need a serious looking into. They decided to hold back one Kuldeep over against Ferreira, and boy it backfired. Three sixes in the 18th over nullified the matchup, adding on to an already expensive middle-over phase where they continue to struggle. Their Indian quicks are just not clicking. Realistically, it will be difficult for their batting alone to carry them to the Playoffs.

Who's saying what?

KL Rahul. Strike-rates. A never-ending saga. Calling it "a big talking point over the years", he is happy to do what "modern T20 cricket requires". Perched atop the Orange Cap list with a strike-rate of 186, he's naturally pleased at how things are working out.

Mitchell Starc wasn't letting his strapped-up arm come in the way of his comeback: "We laugh (and say) if you've got three things strapped, it's time to think about retirement, but I'm not quite there yet."

Axar Patel dedicated the win to the two DC fans who tragically lost their lives in a road accident earlier in the week.

Stat snack

To re-emphasise how good a "chasing season" this has been...

Successful 220+ chases in the IPL:

2008 to 2025: Five

2026: Seven

What's the latest gossip?

The mystery around MSD is kicking up all sorts of fan theories. Mike Hussey said the great man isn't attending games to ensure he's not a distraction to the team. He's at training all the time and is "progressing well" (for a month now). The Yellove is overflowing, but the wait has been too long. Is the R-plan in effect? Let's wait, as Hussey says.

Tonight's watchlist

MI vs CSK: battle of the IPL giants, currently in reduced circumstances. The pre-game reunion of Dhoni and Rohit was enough to set social media ablaze. Enough of the foreplay though: here's hoping the two make a swift return.

Reckless prediction for tonight's game

It's almost 7.30pm at the Chepauk, and what do we see? Rohit and Dhoni, fully suited, walking out to the toss to maddening cheers. And then the alarm rings.