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Nortje pitched England’s Jos Buttler, for 22, and Robin Uthappa, for 32, as the Royals faltered in their pursuit of 162 to manage just 148 of eight in Dubai.
Nortje, who was ably supported by his Proteas brand partner Kagiso Rabada, consistently kicked over 90 mph through his four fearsome-paced overs in a game where the Royals’ fast Jofra Archer posted 3-19 figures. .
“I have no idea I played 156km tonight, but it’s good to hear it,” said Nortje, man of the match.
Rabada, who took a wicket to stay at the top of the IPL bowler list with 18 hairs in eight games, was a lot of praise for his fellow pacemaker, who was chosen by the Delhi Capitals as a replacement for Chris Woakes before the season affected by the virus.
“He’s a very fast bowler and I can learn some technical things from him. I have some experience that I can tell him about,” Rabada said.
On Nortje achieving the fastest IPL pitch, Rabada said: “He looks like this in every game. Really happy for him, but not happy for the batter. When we play, we only think about the pitch and not speed.”
Delhi captain Shreyas Iyer scored 53 and starter Shikhar Dhawan topped the scorer with 57, while Delhi scored 161 of seven after choosing to hit first.
Iyer later left the field after injuring his shoulder while fielding and did not participate further in the game.
Delhi regained first place in the eight-team IPL table with six wins from eight games, but the Mumbai Indians, in second place, have played just seven matches.
In response, England’s Ben Stokes hit 41 on offense, but the hit was to no avail as the Steve Smith-led Royals lost regular ground and managed just 25 runs of their last five overs.
Stokes, a left-handed hitter, started the Royals’ response with a four off Rabada when he hit 37 runs with his starting teammate Buttler attacked in his nine-ball run.
Buttler faced Nortje in the third over, hitting six and two successive spoon shots for four on the short fine leg in deliveries that exceeded 95 mph and one that clocked 97 mph.
Over the moon with tonight’s victory and especially the work of all the bowlers to drag it back – congratulations on your debut… https://t.co/foPR7iWzpM
– Ricky Ponting AO (@RickyPonting) 1602717281000
Nortje, however, got revenge on the last ball by smashing through Buttler’s defenses to pop the stumps on another fastball.
“I wasn’t expecting him to go for a first six-ball. Maybe I was expecting something more from that delivery. I stuck to my strength and it paid off,” Nortje said of his battle with Buttler.
“I wasn’t expecting the second ramp. Fortunately I held my ground. We have a good coach in Ryan. Delighted to work with KG (Rabada). Tushar (Deshpande) has been working on the networks. Enjoying my experience with them.”
Ravichandran Ashwin returned Smith’s catch and pitched one in the next over and soon IPL rookie Deshpande took Stokes’ prized scalp as the Royals slid to 86-3.
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