In an innings that witnessed multiple catches being dropped, Abishek Porel’s memorable 49 and captain Axar Patel’s explosive 34 helped Delhi Capitals post 188/5 on the board against Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday.

If Porel and KL Rahul (38) laid a solid foundation with a 63-run stand, Axar’s blistering 13-ball 34, along with Tristan Stubbs’ unbeaten 34 off 18 provided the final flourish for the Capitals even as momentum swung like a pendulum between the two sides.

The surface at the Feroz Shah Kotla wasn’t the easiest to bat on, offering grip and turn for the spinners. Sandeep Sharma (0/33) bowled beautifully through his spell, though he lost his rhythm in the final over, leaking four wides and a no-ball.

Delhi Capitals got off to a fiery start, with Jake Fraser-McGurk (9) cracking back-to-back boundaries off Jofra Archer (2/32) to set the tone.

Young Porel lit up the Feroz Shah Kotla early on, taking the second over by storm. He tore into Tushar Deshpande, smashing 23 runs, including four elegant boundaries.

But the highlight was a sublime flick over deep backward square for a maximum that had the crowd roaring.

However, DC’s momentum faltered as Fraser-McGurk’s lean patch persisted. The Australian lofted a simple catch to Yashasvi Jaiswal at mid-off in the fourth over, gifting Rajasthan Royals a breakthrough.

Run outs came back to haunt Delhi again as a mix-up between Porel and the in-form Karun Nair (0) resulted in the latter’s dismissal, abruptly halting the Capitals’ early charge.

The Royals’ bowlers tightened the noose during the middle overs, drying up the boundaries and building persistent pressure.

Yet, Porel found a steady ally in seasoned Rahul. The veteran batter brought a sense of calm amid storm, easing the pressure with two towering sixesone launched down the ground off Deshpande in the 7th, and another elegantly lifted over long-off against Mahesh Theekshana in the 11th.

Just when the hosts looked like having rebuild their innings, Archer was brought back skipper Sanju Samson. And the English pacer struck gold, dismissing Rahul with back of length delivery that found Shimron Hetmyer at deep midwicket.

The West Indian held on to a low catch, inches above the ground, swinging the momentum back in Rajasthan’s favour.

But DC skipper Axar, who hasn’t had the best of tournaments exploded, smashing four boundaries and two maximums before Stubbs clean strikes helped Delhi finish strong.