Delhi Capitals continue to enjoy their dream campaign as they defeated Rajasthan Royals by a humiliating margin of 46 runs on Friday at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

With five wins from six matches so far, Shreyas Iyer’s men now stand at the top of the points table in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Steve Smith’s team is placed at seventh.

Even though Rajasthan had restricted their opponents at 184/8 on a track where any total less than 200 is considered moderate, the Delhi bowlers came all guns blazing and bundled the Royals for 138.

Kagiso Ragada was once again the shining star for Capitals with his figures of 3/35. Marcus Stoinis and Ravichandran Ashwin contributed to the cause as well with two scalps each, while Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje and Harshal Patel picked one wicket each.

Chasing a 185-run target, RR lost opener Jos Buttler (13) cheaply off an Ashwin delivery, with just 15 runs on the board.

Skipper Steve Smith (24) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (34) tried their best to rescue RR from the early damage with a brief 41-run stand. However, Nortje didn’t let the duo convert it into something big as he packed back the RR skipper in the ninth over.

The RR’s middle-order once again succumbed under pressure and lost seven wickets for just 100 runs.

Earlier, Jofra Archer’s (3/24) brilliant show with the leather saw DC being restricted at 184/8 in the allotted 20 overs.

Put into bat, DC received jolts at regular intervals, thanks to RR bowlers who didn’t let a partnership develop and which ultimately hurt the Shreyas Iyer-led side’s chances of posting a big total.

It was Shimron Hetmyer, who was the top-score for DC with his 24-ball 45, and Marcus Stoinis, who chipped in with a 30-ball 39 run, helping their side reach a respectable total.

Apart from Archer, Kartik Tyagi, debutant Andrew Tye and Rahul Tewatia picked a wicket apiece.

Brief scores:

DC: 184/8 wkts in 20 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 45, Marcus Stoinis 39; Jofra Archer 3/24) beat RR: 138 all out in 19.4 overs (Rahul Tewatia 38, YashasviJaiswal 34; Kagiso Rabada 3/35) by 46 runs

With IANS inputs