Hello and welcome to Sportstar's live coverage of today's Indian Premier League encounter between the Delhi Capitals and the Royal Challengers Bangalore from the Ferozeshah Kotla in New Delhi.
That's that. Delhi Capitals rides on fifties from Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2012. Royal Challengers Bangalore, on the other hand, has been eliminated. Chasing 188 to stay alive, Bangalore began confidently through a 63-run opening stand between Parthiv Patel and Virat Kohli but their dismissals put a lid on the scoring and eventually, their campaign too.
◘ Rishabh Pant has pulled off a one-handed blinder behind the stumps to get rid of Gurkeerat Mann. That's surely the match for DC? Washington Sundar at the crease. Four runs off it. Bangalore needs 26 runs in 6 balls. Rabada to bowl the final over. Sundar holes out, that should be game, set and match for DC.
◘ Lamichhane returns for his third over. Stoinis deposits a flighted delivery around off over the bowler's head for six. 10 runs coming off it. Bangalore needs 52 runs in 24 balls. Gurkeerat Mann smacks two boundaries and a six off Ishant Sharma to bring the equation down to 36 off 18 balls. Rabada concedes just six off the 18th over. RCB 158/5 after 18 overs.
◘ Mishra returns to the attack. Klaasen departs! Pant takes a stunning diving catch to get rid of the Protean. RCB unravelling. Gurkeerat Mann comes to the crease. GONE! Dube holes out as well. Mishra has put DC in the driver's seat. Axar to bowl out. Marcus Stoinis comes to the crease. Four runs to end the over. Axar 4-0-26-1. Mishra to bowl out as well. He has been sensational with the ball. Shot! Stoinis has thumped this one down the ground for four. 11 off the last over. Mishra 4-0-29-2. RCB 126/5 after 15 overs.
◘ Axar to continue. Dube shows first signs of aggression, launches an Axar delivery over long-on for six. Eight runs off it. Lamichhane is back into the attack. Dube muscles one deep mid-wicket for his second six. 11 runs off the over. Sherfane Rutherford to roll his arm. AB De Villiers gets hold of it, or has he? Axar plucks a sharp catch near the ropes and RCB are in trouble now. Heinrich Klaasen comes to the middle. Two runs to end the over, six coming off it. RCB 107/3 after 12 overs.
◘ Amit Mishra has been introduced into the attack. Just three runs coming off it. Axar is back into the attack. KOHLI DEPARTS! He has hit a long hop straight down the fielder's throat. Kohli can't believe it. But he has to depart! Shivam Dube joins AB. Four runs off it. Mishra to continue. Dropped! Tewatia has dropped Dube. AB wraps up the over with a six over backward square-leg. RCB 82/2 after 9 overs.
◘ Kagiso Rabada is welcomed by Parthiv with a glorious cover-drive. Kohli at it now; beautiful on-drive from the RCB captain. Nine off the over. Drama in the middle. Pant has claimed a catch but Kohli is convinced that the ball has bounced in front of the keeper. Replays vindicate him and Kohli survives . He celebrates by lifting a length ball over long-on for six. It's all happening. Four to long-on off overthrows! 11 off it. Rabada to continue . Swatted through covers; Parthiv is on fire at the moment. Patel perishes ! Thanks to a stunning take by Axar at point. AB joins Virat. RCB 64/1 after 6 overs.
◘ Parthiv gets off the mark with a quick single. Kohli, too, opens his account with a single. Parthiv gets a boundary off the outside edge and follows it up with a lofted hit to the long-off fence. 10 off the over. Axar to share the new ball, so both teams opting to employ spin early. Parthiv has swept that for six. Top shot! 10 off this over as well. Sandeep Lamichhane has been introduced into the attack. Parthiv hammers two back-to-back fours. 15 off the over. RCB 35/0 after 3 overs.
Virat Kohli and Parthiv Patel to begin the run chase. Plenty riding on Kohli and the in-form Patel. Remember, it's a must-win game for the Royal Challengers. Ishant Sharma to start proceedings with the new ball.
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Axar Patel and Sherfane Rutherford added 46 off 19 balls to power Delhi Capitals to 187/5 after fifties by Shikhar Dhawan and skipper Shreyas Iyer had laid a solid platform for the host side. RCB pulled things back through its spinners but with Umesh Yadav and Navdeep Saini going for 36 in the last two overs, Kohli's men are left with a target of 188.
◘ Umesh Yadav to bowl out. 16 runs off that over. Two boundaries and a six each for Patel and Rutherford respctively. Just the push Delhi needed at the death. Saini to bowl the final over. Oh Dear! Saini concedes four byes off his first ball. And another one, this time the outside edge flies off Rutherford's bat for four more. Now Axar puts one away. It's raining fours in the last over. Patel finishes off with a six. 56 runs have come off the last four overs. DC finishes on 187/5.
◘ Sundar to bowl out. Iyer, too, holes out after scoringa fifty. RCB spinners putting the brakes on Delhi in the middle overs. Sherfane Rutherford joins Ingram. Four runs and a wicket off it. Saini returns into the attack. Ingram powers one to the long-off fence
after two consecutive dots before lofting one inside out over extra cover for six.
Saini, though, has the last laugh; Ingram holes out trying to up the ante. Axar Patel comes to the middle. 10 runs and a wicket. Stoinis returns for his third. He goes for 10 as well.
DC 151/5 after 18 overs.
◘ Chahal to bowl his third. STRIKES! Gets rid of in-form Dhawan. Rishabh Pant comes to the crease. Brilliant from Chahal; just three runs and a wicket. Washington to bowl his third over. He goes short and Pant dispatches it for his first boundary of the match. Nine runs of the over. Chahal bowling out. Iyer greets him with a maximum over cow corner and follows it up with a six over long-on, brings up his fifty! Pant, meanwhile, has been adjudged lbw. He reviews but to no avail. Colin Ingram comes to the crease. DC 127/3 after 15 overs.
◘ Sundar is back into the attack. Seven runs coming off it. Stoinis to continue. Meanwhile, the 50-run partnership is up between Dhawan and Iyer. Cheeky! Dhawan backs away, makes room and ramps a slower ball over fine leg for four. 10 runs off the over. Shivam Dube to roll his arm. Dhawan brings up his 50 with a single. Five coming off it. DC 102/1 after 12 overs.
◘ Chahal is back into the attack. Muscled! Iyer has clobbered one over deep mid-wicket for six. 10 runs off the over. Excellent start this for the host. Stoinis has been brought into the attack. Good start, only five coming off it in the end. Saini is back into the attack. Dhawan pulls one to deep mid-wicket for four. Seven off the over. DC 81/1 after 9 overs.
◘ Umesh Yadav returns for his second over. Stand and deliver! Handsomely placed through square of the wicket by Shaw. Edged and Gone! Shaw perishes after yet another quick start. Yadav with the breakthrough. Shreyas Iyer is the new batsman to the crease, opens his account with a first-ball four. 11 runs and a wicket off the over. Navdeep Saini, bowling his first over, has been flicked away for six by Dhawan. Iyer, now, gets a boundary to long-on. 11 off it. Umesh to continue. Seven off it. DC 59/1 after 6 overs.
◘ Prithvi Shaw gets off the mark with a single. Dhawan takes strike. He hammers a length ball from Yadav for the first boundary of the match. Five runs off that over. Dhawan now has the maximum number of fours this season; he overtakes David Warner. Washington Sundar , right-arm off break, from the other end. Shaw dances down the track and slaps one over the bowler's head for four. Follows it up with another hit to the fence, this time to backward-point. 10 runs off it . Yuzvendra Chahal has been introduced into the attack. Dhawan greets him with a six first ball. Two balls later, carves him over backward square leg for four. Shaw joins the fun, gets a boundary off the last ball to take 15 off the over. DC 30/0 after 3 overs.
Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw to open for Delhi, Umesh Yadav with the new ball.
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TOSS UPDATE: Shreyas Iyer has won the toss and Delhi Capitals will bat first.
Virat Kohli: " When you lose six games in a row, the only thing you have in control is to to come out and enjoy your cricket. That's something we've done in the last five games. We could have won five in five, but the key is to not take any pressure now."
Shreyas Iyer: " We are gonna bat first. It's a dry wicket. I think it'll play better in the first half. It's just an assumption really well currently. They have won three consecutive games and have got nothing to lose. They'll be coming strong and fearless. We have to back our strengths."
Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Sherfane Rutherford, Colin Ingram, Axar Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Sandeep Lamichhane, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma
Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Parthiv Patel(w), Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Marcus Stoinis, Heinrich Klaasen, Shivam Dube, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal
One change for Delhi Capitals: Lamichhane in, Morris out.
Three changes for Royal Challengers Bangalore: Moeen, Southee and Akshdeep out. Klaasen, Dube and Gurkeerat Singh in.
Pitch Report: "The wicket is very, very dry. It's like a riverbed, there's hardly a blade of grass. Very uniform, very flat. Don't expect a great deal for the seam bowlers. When the ball is new and shiny, it might skid off a bit. Whoever wins the toss will will almost certainly bat first," reckons Graeme Swann.
Part of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s turnaround in the recent past — it has won three of its last four matches — had arrived after a change of mindset. The team had been burdened by the pressure of winning, and after a string of losses, it decided to “enjoy our time on the field,” according to off-spinner Washington Sundar| RCB looking to enjoy itself in last three games
This season, struggles at home seemed to impede Delhi Capitals' progress even as it ensured a successful away run. According to Shikhar Dhawan, the opener, pitches at the Ferozeshah Kotla took time getting used to| Delhi showed character in ending home struggle
Meanwhile, AB De Villiers, the former South Africa captain, is unwilling to put his money on any particular team for the upcoming World Cup| de Villiers finds it tough to pick a favourite for World Cup 2019
One loss away from crashing out, Royal Challengers Bangalore faces the in-form Delhi Capitals at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Sunday.
Here's Abhishek Mukherjee's preview of this afternoon's contest:
DC eyes playoffs, RCB keen to remain in hunt
Royal Challengers Bangalore has managed to just about keep itself afloat in the race for the Playoff spot with a late revival, winning three of its last four contests. Now it has the daunting prospect of playing Delhi Capitals at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Sunday; a loss here will end its campaign.
Like Royal Challengers, Capitals has enjoyed a successful run in the last fortnight, winning five of its last six games. Unlike Royal Challengers, it is one win away from sealing a berth in the Playoffs.
Moreover, Capitals has had decisive contributions from a variety of players to enable it to occupy the third spot in the points table. Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, captain Shreyas Iyer, Kagiso Rabada and Chris Morris have been match-winners at one time or another. There have been smaller useful performances from other players, too; fast bowler Ishant Sharma, for example, has delivered four quiet overs upfront on most occasions to register an impressive economy rate of 7.10 in nine matches.
The team faced hiccups at home, but with the management having gained clarity on the likely behaviour of the pitch here, it is unlikely to pose any discomfort to the team on Sunday. Its calm, determined performance in its contest against Kings XI Punjab seemed to demonstrate that the demons — if any — had been culled. In any case, it will be a source of reassurance for the side.
READ | Shreyas Iyer: We play as underdogs
For Royal Challengers, the source of reassurance will be AB de Villiers’ form. The batsman has had an excellent run in the IPL; in his team’s last four contests, he has scored three half-centuries, including a match-winning, unbeaten 82 earlier this week against Kings XI. With 414 runs in 10 matches, de Villiers currently sits fourth in the list of leading run-getters in the tourney so far.
Virat Kohli, the captain, isn’t far behind; he has a tally of 400. 100 of those were scored in the contest against Kolkata Knight Riders last week.
Moeen Ali, who has also played a hand in the team’s revival via contributions with bat and ball, will not be present due to his England commitments. The off-spinner will be missed by the side, especially on a pitch that is useful for spinners.
The spin responsibilities will have to be shouldered by Yuzvendra Chahal, the leg-spinner, and perhaps Washington Sundar, whose first participated contest this season was against Kings XI this week.
READ | IPL Playoffs and final to begin at 7:30pm
In what will be a first at this venue, the contest begins late afternoon. The heat will have to be factored in, although both teams have had practice sessions in the hot day-time conditions here.
The match will be streamed live on Hotstar.
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