"One rule that changed the game" - Aakash Chopra on DC's IPL 2025 win vs RR

Former India player Aakash Chopra has opined that the removal of the saliva ban in IPL 2025 changed the course of the clash between the Delhi Capitals (DC) and the Rajasthan Royals (RR). He pointed out that the heavy ball, due to the application of saliva, allowed Mitchell Starc to bowl reverse swinging yorkers and take the game to the Super Over when RR seemed headed to an easy win.

Starc conceded only 16 runs in his final two overs and dismissed the well-set Nitish Rana to restrict RR to 188/4 in pursuit of a 189-run target in Match 32 of IPL 2025 in Delhi on Wednesday, April 16. DC won the subsequent Super Over, achieving the 12-run target in four deliveries to climb atop the points table.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener noted that the new saliva rule in IPL 2025 proved to be the game-changer in DC's clash against RR.

"The Super Over happened because the ball reverse swung. Why did the ball reverse swing? It's because of the rule made this year to remove the saliva ban. As soon as you remove the saliva ban, suddenly, the ball starts reverse swinging. Of course, dew shouldn't be there, or else nothing would happen," Chopra said (1:40).

"Saliva is really heavy as compared to sweat, it doesn't have salt, and the ball starts moving to the heavier side. We saw that with Mitchell Starc. He nailed yorkers one after the other. He changed the match that Rajasthan should have won easily. The match went to the Super Over, and he bowled the Super Over as well, and that was the game. One rule that changed the game," he added.

Mitchell Starc registered figures of 1/36 in four overs in the main game, dismissing Nitish Rana lbw with a yorker in the 18th over. He also bowled the Super Over, conceding 11 runs, which was chased down easily by KL Rahul and Tristan Stubbs.

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"Everyone started trolling him" - Aakash Chopra on KL Rahul's slow knock in DC's IPL 2025 win vs RR

KL Rahul wasn't at his fluent best in DC's IPL 2025 clash against RR. [P/C: Getty]

Reflecting on the Delhi Capitals' innings in the main game, Aakash Chopra noted that Tristan Stubbs (34* off 18) and Axar Patel (34 off 14) took the home team to a respectable total after KL Rahul (38 off 32) had played a slow knock.

"Delhi were invited to bat first. Jake Fraser-McGurk isn't playing well. (Abishek) Porel played well. The game became very slow. Rahul was going at almost a run-a-ball. Everyone started trolling him. Then Stubbs and Axar hit in the end and took the team to a decent total," he said (4:35) in the same video.

Speaking about the Rajasthan Royals' chase, the cricketer-turned-commentator praised Yashasvi Jaiswal (51 off 37) and Nitish Rana (51 off 28) for scoring enterprising half-centuries, and pointed out that Dhruv Jurel's refusal of a second run off the penultimate ball potentially took the game to the Super Over.

"Yashasvi played fast and hit the ball into the stands. He was batting very well, but wickets started to fall when the spinners came. Nitish Rana was absolutely brilliant, but then an incredible yorker hit his pads. If Dhruv Jurel had taken that run, the story might have been different. He didn't, and you ended up on the losing side," Chopra observed.

Aakash Chopra noted that KL Rahul compensated for his slow knock in the main game by scoring seven runs off three deliveries in the Super Over before Tristan Stubbs hit a six to seal the win. To conclude, he termed Wednesday's IPL 2025 clash between DC and RR an 'incredible' game of cricket.