Royal Challengers Bengaluru refused to throw in the towel in its quest to reach the Indian Premier League playoffs, beating Delhi Capitals by 47 runs at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday.
In a must-win game for both sides, Faf du Plessis’ men defended a modest-looking 187 to record their fifth win on the trot and rise to fifth in the table (12 points).
DC lost Impact Player David Warner early, but Jake Fraser-McGurk caned Mohammed Siraj for a six and two fours to commence the pursuit in fiery fashion.
RCB vs DC - AS IT HAPPENED
But his run out at the non-striker’s end when the ball deflected off pacer Yash Dayal’s left hand, a delivery after Abishek Porel had fallen, left DC reeling at 24 for three.
Shai Hope (29, 23b, 4x4) and stand-in skipper Axar Patel (57, 39b, 5x4, 3x6) tried to jump-start the chase but couldn’t prevent their chances of playoffs qualification from taking a massive hit.
Shai Hope (29, 23b, 4x4) and stand-in skipper Axar Patel (57, 39b, 5x4, 3x6) tried to jump-start the chase but the in-form Tristan Stubbs’ run out while going for a non-existent single meant Capitals’ playoffs qualification took a massive hit.
Asked to bat first, RCB seemed set for a lot more, having scored 61 runs from the PowerPlay and being 110 for two after 10 overs. However, a lower middle-order collapse meant that the home side couldn’t build on the fine efforts from Virat Kohli (27, 13b, 1x4, 3x6), Will Jacks (41, 29b, 3x4, 2x6) and Rajat Patidar (52, 32b, 3x4, 3x6).
Kohli began imperiously, hitting Ishant Sharma for a six over mid-wicket and straight down the ground, and dispatching Khaleel Ahmed over the bowler’s head. Kohli and Ishant also indulged in some friendly banter, but it was the latter who had the last laugh, having Kohli caught behind.
Patidar and Jacks kept up the momentum, carting the spin duo of Axar and Kuldeep Yadav to all parts. The visitors didn’t help themselves with some shoddy fielding. In the ninth over, from Kuldeep, Axar dropped Jacks running back towards mid-on and Shai Hope grassed Patidar at long-on. In the 11th, Axar reprieved Patidar at cover off Rasikh Salam.
Oddly, the manic happenings disrupted RCB’s batting rhythm. Not a single six came from overs 10 to 16 and the dismissals of Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik and Swapnil Singh in a six-ball window robbed RCB of an end-overs flourish. In the end, none of it mattered.
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