Royal Challengers Bengaluru refused to throw in the towel in its quest to reach the IPL 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 its fifth win on the trot and rise up 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.
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, 4×4) and stand-in skipper Axar Patel (57, 39b, 5×4, 3×6) tried to jump-start the chase, but the in-form Tristan Stubbs’ run out while going for a non-existent single meant Capitals’ playoffs chances 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, 1×4, 3×6), Will Jacks (41, 29b, 3×4, 2×6) and Rajat Patidar (52, 32b, 3×4, 3×6).
Kohli’s sizzling start
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 a strong finish. In the end, none of it mattered.
Scoreboard
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli c Abhishek Porel b Ishant 27 Faf du Plessis c Jake Fraser-McGurk b Mukesh Kumar 6 Will Jacks c Axar b Kuldeep Yadav 41 Rajat Patidar c Axar b Rasikh Salam 52 Cameron Green not out 32 Mahipal Lomror c Abishek Porel b Khaleel Ahmed 13 Dinesh Karthik c Kuldeep Yadav b Khaleel Ahmed 0 Swapnil Singh c Kushagra b Rasikh Salam 0 Karn Sharma run out (Shai Hope/Mukesh Kumar) 6 Mohammed Siraj run out (Mukesh Kumar) 0
Extras: (b-1, lb-2, w-7) 10
Total: (For 9 wickets, 20 Overs) 187
Fall of Wickets: 1-23, 2-36, 3-124, 4-137, 5-174, 6-174, 7-176, 8-185, 9-187
Bowling: Ishant Sharma 3-0-31-1, Khaleel Ahmed 4-0-31-2, Mukesh Kumar 3-0-23-1, Axar Patel 3-0-24-0, Kuldeep Yadav 4-0-52-1, Rasikh Dar Salam 3-0-23-2. c
Delhi Capitals: David Warner c Will Jacks b Swapnil Singh 12 Jake Fraser-McGurk run out 21 Abhishek Porel c Lockie Ferguson b Yash Dayal 2 Shai Hope c Karn Sharma b Lockie Ferguson 29 Kumar Kushagra lbw Siraj 2 Axar Patel c du Plessis b Yash Dayal 57 Tristan Stubbs run out 3 Rasikh Dar Salam c Will Jacks b Green 10 Kuldeep Yadav b Yash Daya 6 Mukesh Kumar c Lomror b Lockie Ferguson 3 Ishant Sharma not out 0
Extras: (lb-1, w-5) 6
Total: (All out in 19.1 Overs) 140
Fall of Wickets: 1-8, 2-24, 3-24, 4-30, 5-86, 6-90, 7-127, 8-128, 9-135.
Bowling: Swapnil Singh 1-0-9-1, Mohammed Siraj 4-0-33-1, Yash Dayal 3.1-0-20-3, Karn Sharma 2-0-19-0, Lockie Ferguson 4-0-23-2, Cameron Green 4-0-19-1, Will Jacks 1-0-16-0.
