We didn’t finish off well with the bat: Smith

Jaipur, April 23 (IANS) Rajasthan Royals captain Steve Smith felt his side could have posted a much higher total against Delhi Capitals in their Indian Premier League (IPL) game which they lost by six wickets, here on Monday.

Ajinkya Rahane's brilliant century (106 not out), followed by skipper Steve Smith's 50, propelled Rajasthan Royals to a fighting 191/6 at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium. The hosts could have scored in excess of 200 but after Smith fell, Rajasthan lost the momentum and lost a flurry of wickets towards the end of their innings.

"We thought we didn't finish off well with the bat, they pulled things back with Rabada in the death overs. We couldn't quite get hold of their bowlers," said Smith after the game.

DC captain Shreyas Iyer also praised his bowlers for restricting the hosts for a below par score on a "belter" of a track.

"We knew Royals are going to go all-out. Wicket was a belter and the way they started we thought they will score 200. Rahane batted brilliantly. Our bowlers contained well to restrict Royals," he said.

Chasing 192, Delhi rode on the brilliant half centuries from Shikhar Dhawan (54) and Rishabh Pant (78*) as the won the match with four balls to spare.

"They took our bowlers on in the powerplay and Shikhar played a magnificent knock. Pant is a young lad and he did a terrific job as well," said Smith while praising Dhawan and Pant.

"We changed a few tactics, I didn't want Gopal to bowl in the powerplay but decided to give him a bowl as the dew was setting in. It's always hard for bowlers with the dew around. The wicket stayed the same throughout the 40 overs. You can try and get wickets with your best bowlers or keep them for the death overs," he added.

This was Rajasthan's seventh defeat from the 10 games they have played so far. Smith and Co. are now effectively out of the contention to make it to the playoffs.

Rajasthan Royals will next face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.