Anrich Nortje feels his ability to stick to the basics yielded results. Also, an excellent 18th over turned the match for Delhi Capitals.

“I stuck to my strength and it paid off. I was trying to hit the stumps and bowl fast,” Man of the Match Nortje said after the game.

He praised bowling coach Ryan Harris and the other bowlers. “We’ve got a good coach in Ryan… Lovely working with KG (Kagiso Rabada). Tushar (Deshpande) has been nailing the yorkers in the nets. I’m enjoying my experience with them,” the fast bowler said.

Shikhar Dhawan, who led the team after the injury to Shreyas Iyer, hoped the regular captain would soon be fit.

“Shreyas is in a bit of pain. We will know more tomorrow. His shoulder is moving, touch wood,” Dhawan said. “I am glad that we won this game. Making a comeback was a great team effort. I quite enjoyed it.”

Rajasthan Royals captain Steve Smith couldn’t hide his disappointment.

“It’s disappointing,” he said. “The wicket slowed up a fair bit, but we got off to a good start with Jos (Buttler) and (Ben) Stokesy. Then Sanju (Samson) and Stokesy got a partnership going but we lost too many wickets.”