New Delhi [India], May 18 (ANI): Rajasthan Royals (RR) suffered their third consecutive defeat of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 when they couldn't defend 193 runs against Delhi Capitals (DC) on Sunday, and the former India captain and legend Sunil Gavaskar called the 18th over by Donovan Ferreira 'a suicidal move'.

With DC still needing 35 runs in the last three overs, Rajasthan Royals skipper Riyan Parag turned to Ferreira to bowl the crucial 18th over. He conceded 16 runs, including two sixes in that over, which made the equation easier for the hosts.

Speaking on Star Sports 'Amul Cricket Live', JioStar expert Sunil Gavaskar labelled Riyan Parag's decision to hand the ball to Donovan Ferreira a match-losing move.

'Handing the ball to Donovan Ferreira to bowl the 18th over was a suicidal move. You are bringing a slow bowler on a pitch offering him no help. He was just bowling in the slot. It was his first over of the match. He had also scored a golden duck with the bat. Sometimes you must look at where the luck is going that day,' said Gavaskar.

He further added, 'If he had scored 40 or 50 runs and was high on confidence, giving him an over would have made sense. But he got out first ball, and you still gave him the ball. He went for 16 runs in that over, and the match was gone. Done and dusted. Riyan Parag could have handed the ball to a proper bowler, a regular bowler. Even if that bowler gave away 20 runs, that's not the point. The point is that at that crucial stage, giving the ball to Donovan Ferreira was a suicidal decision by Rajasthan Royals.'

Brijesh Sharma leaked 12 runs in the penultimate over, which left Adam Milne to save seven runs in the last six deliveries. Ashutosh Sharma finished the game in the first two balls and kept his side alive in the race for the playoffs.

Earlier, it was Mitchell Starc, Madhav Tiwari and Lungi Ngidi who shared eight wickets among them to restrict RR to 193/8 despite fifties from Dhruv Jurel (53 off 40 balls) and Riyan Parag (51 off 26 balls), and a crucial knock from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (46 off 21 balls).

Starc took four wickets in the match, including an over hat-trick in the 15th over when he dismissed the set batter Parag on the second delivery, Ferreira on the next and the debutant Ravi Singh on the fifth delivery of the over.

Speaking about Starc's three-wicket over, Gavaskar said, 'It's not just about how many wickets you take. It's about when you take them. Wickets at key moments change the game. In the Powerplay, early wickets push the opposition on the back foot and stop them from getting a flying start. But if you fail to control the run-flow at the death, all that early effort goes to waste.'

'Starc didn't have a great powerplay. But when he came back at the death, he bowled with great control. He didn't let the Rajasthan batters free their arms. He choked the runs and picked up crucial wickets. Those wickets turned the match in Delhi's favour. Rajasthan looked set to cross 200 easily, but Starc had other plans. They paid the price for underestimating him. His three-wicket over pushed Rajasthan all the way back,' he concluded.

DC is in seventh place, with six wins and seven losses, giving them 12 points. RR is placed fifth, with six wins and six losses, giving them 12 points. (ANI)