In what was a one-sided IPL match, Royal Challengers Bengaluru outclassed Delhi Capitals with an overall brilliant show winning the game by nine wickets. RCB’s pace brigade tore through the Delhi batting order and then their batters knocked off the paltry target in just 6.3 overs, bringing an end to the match after less than three hours of play. The commanding win also put Bengaluru’s Net Run Rate in a stronger position and kept them well in the hunt for the top of the points table.
Delhi Capitals had one of the greatest batting meltdowns in IPL after they were asked to bat first. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood exploited the swing and bounce on an awkward pitch leaving India languishing in the opening overs. Bowling at its best: IPL debutant Sahil Parakh lasted just two balls before he was jettisoned, falling to a beautiful inswinger from Bhuvneshwar. Things rapidly worsened as KL Rahul mis-timed a pull shot off Hazlewood, also only to roll the first ball from debutant Sameer Rizvi (a golden duck) thereafter.
The patter of wickets continued as Tristan Stubbs was caught behind and then Axar Patel also fell prey to the unyielding pressure exerted by RCB’s fast bowlers. The next victim of Hazlewood’s tried-and-true method was Nitish Rana, who sent Delhi to the no-mans-land score of 8 for 6. Even the RCB fielders seemed shocked at the collapse happening right in front of them.
In the midst of this turmoil, Abhishek Porel fought back and looked to put things back on track with David Miller. They saved Delhi from what could have been a new lowest total in IPL history. Miller scored 1, while Porel was the only batter to cross the 20-run mark with a score of 30 from 33 balls. In response, Delhi folded for a paltry 75 all out, Hazlewood taking sensational figures of 4/12 and Bhuvneshwar 3/5.
Defending a small target, Bengaluru started with aggression straight away. Jacob Bethell(null) hit some big shots and then fell for 20 but Devdutt Padikkal(null) was on the rampage unbeaten 34. Then he went on to end the match in style with two back-to-back sixes. With the innings, Kohli also became the first batter in IPL history to make 9000 runs – another feat for his illustrious career. They completed the chase by scoring 77 for 1 with remaining balls of 81 off RCB’s wins, winning a stake in tournament games.
