An all-round performance with bat, ball and in the field helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeat Delhi Capitals (DC) by 47 runs in the IPL 2024 match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing 188 runs to strengthen their Playoff qualification chances, DC’s decision to use David Warner as an impact-sub backfired as the veteran opener fell in the first over, caught by Will Jacks off the impressive Swapnil Singh for 1.
Yash Dayal dented the chase further in the third over, sending Abishek Porel (2 runs off 3 balls) and Jake Fraser-McGurk (21 runs off 8 balls) in consecutive deliveries to put RCB on top. 24 for 3 became 30 for 4 when Mohammed Siraj sent Kumar Kushagra back (4 runs off 5 balls) and DC were up a creek without a paddle in a must-win clash.
Shai Hope and stand-in skipper Axar Patel began the rebuild and put on 56 runs for the fifth wicket, before the former was dismissed (29 runs off 23 balls), caught superbly by Karn Sharma off Lockie Ferguson.
They were further in the mire a few overs later when Tristan Stubbs was run out (3 runs off 4 balls), but Patel kept their flickering hope alive by amassing a stroke-filled half-century.
But when the southpaw fell (57 runs from 39 balls), caught very well by his counterpart off Dayal’s bowling, that proved to be the final straw that broke the camel’s back and RCB eventually clinched victory and two crucial points to keep their Playoffs qualification hopes alive.
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Earlier, an 88-run stand for the third wicket between Rajat Patidar (52 runs off 32 balls) and Will Jacks (41 runs from 29 balls) helped RCB post 187 for 8 in 20 overs, after being put into bat.
Pacers Khaleel Ahmed and Ishant Sharma accounted for the opening duo of Du Plessis (6 runs off 7 balls) and Virat Kohli (27 runs off 13 balls), the latter falling after looking impressive in his short stay at the crease.
But the pairing of Jacks and Patidar ensured that RCB did not suffer any more dents after the Powerplay with the latter, particularly severe to the spin of Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, using the long handle to great effect and putting the ball into the stands on more than one occasion.
DC had a chance to send both batters back to the hut in the ninth over, but twin drops by Patel and Shai Hope gave both a chance to extend their stay in the middle and at 110-2 after 10 overs in good batting conditions, RCB looked good to set DC a tall score to chase.
After giving him another life and watching him get to his second consecutive half-century, DC finally saw the back of Patidar (52 runs off 31 balls) in the 12th over as Patel held on to a tough chance off Rasikh Salam.
Two overs later, DC had put the innings on an even keel after Kuldeep removed Jacks for a 29-ball 41 and at 138 for 4 after 15 overs, RCB needed one final flourish.
But the DC bowlers struck regular dents at the back end of the RCB innings as Ahmed removed Mahipal Lomror (13 runs off 8 balls) and the designated finisher Dinesh Karthik (0 off 2 balls) in the same over and RCB eventually finished short of the 200-mark which they looked good to reach at the halfway mark of the innings.
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