Delhi Capitals are back to winning ways as they defeated hosts RCB by 4 wickets. They will be happy with their performance today. Rabada was lethal with the ball and Iyer was impressive with the bat. It was very unusual innings from Kohli (41 off33 balls) but RCB managed to set a target of 150 on a slow wicket. But good partnerships between Iyer and Shaw and Ingram and Iyer put DC within a distance of the target. There was late drama, but the total was too less for RCB to pull off a victory. Get highlights of the RCB vs DC match here
RCB have lost 6 matches straight this season. They are unable to get that first points on board. Delhi Capitals led by a brilliant knock of 67 from skipper Iyer made the chase look comfortable. Delhi also had a scare at the end, which would have reminded them of their collapse against KXIP. But today, they won it in the end. 15 catches dropped by RCB this season. That is costing them the matches and probably the tournament too.
Brief Score: Delhi Capitals: 152/6 in 18.5 Overs. (Iyer 67, Shaw 28, Ingram 22, Saini 2/24)
19:17: Axar Patel hits the winning runs. But not before Pant holes out at mid off. Siraj bowled it a touch short and Pant went for the shot. Pant departs for 18 (14). DC win by 4 wickets and seven balls to spare. That's a straight sixth loss for RCB this season.
19:12 Is there a twist in the tale here. Saini scalps two wickets. Iyer perishes for a well played 67 off 50 balls. Quick short raising ball from Saini and Iyer got a top edge that ballooned to Chahal at cover region. Morris goes for a duck. Caught at mid-off by ABD. Just one run of the over. DC 145/5 after 18 overs.
19:08: Chahal comes in for his last over. 13 runs given. Iyer smokes one over the fence at deep cover region. Just 6 runs required now. DC 144/3 after 17 overs.
19:05: Moeen continues. 8 runs off the over. Pant drags on to the fence on the on side. Four singles off the next five deliveries. DC 131/3 after 16 overs. Iyer 60* (46), Pant 10* (7)
19:00: Saini is brought back. 9 runs off the over. Misfield from Siraj at third man gives Iyer a boundary. It should be a cakewalk for DC now. DC 123/3 after 15. They require 27 runs off 30 balls.
18:55: Moeen removes Ingram. He went for a scoop and he is trapped in front. Ingram departs for 22 (21). Iyer reaches his fifty off 37 balls. Pant joins him at the middle. Iyer 51* off 38 balls (7x4,1x6). DC 114/3 after 14 overs
18:51: Chahal is in. 12 runs off the over. Ingram starts the over with a sweep that runs down to the boundary. And Iyer square cuts yet another time to the fence. A classic shot from Iyer. DC 108/2 after 13 overs.
18:47: A tight over from Moeen. Just gave away two runs. DC 96/2. 54 required off 48 balls.
18:44: 14 runs scored off Negi's third over. A six over extra cover and a four at backward point region for Ingram. DC are 94/2 after 11 overs.
18:39: Moeen Ali is introduced by Kohli. Ingram struggles to get off the strike. But finally manages a single down at mid off. Iyers scoops one to the fence. Iyer 42* (32), Ingram 2* (6). DC 80/2 after 10 overs. DC requires 70 more in 10 overs.
18:36: Negi picks up Shaw. Shaw departs for 28 off 22 balls (5X4, 0x6). Short pitch ball. Should have deposited out of the stadium. But gets a top edge and is caught at deep mid-wicket. Iyer continues his class with yet another square cut to the fence. DC 74/2 after 9.
18:32: Siraj into the attack. Classic square cut by Iyer to the fence. 7 runs given away in the over. DC 68/1 after 8 overs.
18:27: Left arm orthodox spinner Negi is introduced. He had a good game against KKR. Starts decently. 8 off the over. DC 61/1
18:23: A six of the first ball straight over the sightscreen from Iyer. And 5 dot balls to follow it up from Chahal. DC 53/1 after 6 overs. Shaw 26* (18), Iyer 20* (18)
18:18: 12 runs of the over. Iyer and Shaw score a boundary each. Saini is bowling real quick. DC 47/1
18:12: Kohli introduces his trump card, Chahal. 5 runs off the over. DC 35/1 after 4 overs.
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18:10: Southee continues. Four boundaries on the trot by Shaw. Two at deep backward point, one at mid-wicket and one at fine leg. And four leg byes too. 20 runs off the over. DC 30/1 after 3 overs. Shaw 18*, Iyer 6*
18:05: Young Saini is introduced. Excellent over. He is clocking 151 KMP consistently. Just 2 runs off the over. DC 10/1 after 2 overs.
18:00: Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan walk in. Southee starts things for RCB. Dramatic start to the innings. It had it all. Golden duck for Dhawan. Caught by Saini at short third man. Iyer is off the mark with a crisp drive to the fence. A diving Parthiv drops Iyer's catch. DC are 8/1 after 1 over.
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Brief Scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore: 149/8 in 20 overs. (Kohli 41, Moeen 32, Rabada 4/21, Morris 2/28
17:40: Good last over by Rabada. 7 runs off the over. RCB finish at 149/8 after 20 overs. Rabada finishes his spell with 4/21. He is now also the leading wicket-taker this season with 11 wickets to his name.
17:35: Good over by Morris. Just 4 runs given away and a wicket off the last ball. Siraj went for the scoop shot and has been trapped in front of the wicket. Review taken by RCB and it is crashing into the leg stump. RCB 142/8 after 19 overs.
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17:26: Rabada picks up three wickets in the over. Kohli departs for 41. Holes out at long on. Akshdeep (19 off 12 balls) and Pawan Negi (0) are caught behind by Pant. Just five runs off the over and three wickets in it. Rabada 3-0-14-4 . RCB 138/7 after 18 overs
17:22: Big big over for RCB. Sandeep is being taken to the cleaners. A couple of sixes from Kohli. 19 runs of the over. RCB 133/4 after 17 overs. Kohli 41* (32), Akshdeep 15 (10)
17:18: Morris is in again. Just 6 off the over. Aksdeep drives one to the fence past extra cover. Kohli is still playing a patient innings here. RCB 114/4
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17:13: Sandeep into the attack. 11 runs scored off the over. Moeen is stumped by Pant after he hits a maximum of the first ball. He departs for 32 off 18 balls (1x4,3x6). Young Akshdeep Nath walks in. RCB 108/4 after 15 overs. Sandeep has now picked up his 50th T20 career wicket.
17:09: Ishant comes back for his last over. 14 runs off the over. Moeen pulls the first ball over deep mid wicket for a maximum. The surface is behaving odd here; It has a tennis ball sort of a bounce and the wicket seems to be slow. Moeen hits a wide yorker to the fence at backward point. RCB 97/3 after 14 overs.
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17:02: 11 runs off the over. Moeen hits the first ball for a six in the cow corner region. RCB 83/3 after 13 Overs. Moeen 13* (10), Kohli 26* (26)
16:59: Quiet over. Single of every ball. Sandeep is keeping a check on RCB's run-rate. RCB 72/3.
16:53: Axar picks up Stoinis. Short ball and he holes up at long on, going for the pull. Stoinis departs for 15 off 17 balls. Axar has bowled well giving just 11 runs off his three overs. RCB 66/3 after 11.
16:50: Sandeep Lamichhane introduced. Big six by Stoinis over long on of the first ball. four singles given off the next five balls. RCB 63/2 after 10 overs. Stoinis 14*, Kohli 20*
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16:44: Six singles off the over. Axar is tossing it up. RCB 53/2 after 9 overs. It is Time out. RCB wil have to shift gears now.
16:41: Rabada is using the bounce of the wicket very well. His height and pace is an added advantage. Decent over Just 5 runs given. RCB 47/2 after 8 overs.
16:36: Stoinis joins Kohli in the middle. Axar Patel introduced by Iyer. Quiet over. Just 2 runs off it. RCB 42/2 after 7 overs
16:32: Rabada bowls the last over of the powerplay. ABD goes for the shot; caught by Ingram at mid on. Good change of pace by Rabada there. Completely foxed ABD. ABD departs for 17 off 16 balls. RCB 40/2
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16:27: Isant is bowling his third over. 10 runs of the over. ABD is turning up the ante. Four of the last ball in between the point cover region. RCB 36/1
16:20: Good start to the over by Morris. The bowlers are bowling a lot of short balls. AB de Villiers pulls one for a maximum over mid-wicket. First 6 for RCB. RCB 26/1 after 4 overs
16:17: AB de Villiers walks in at No.3. Quiet Over for RCB. Ishant is bending his back and generating good bounce of the wicket. Just 2 runs off the over. RCB 18/1
16:10: Morris bowls the second over. Virat edges one past the diving fielder at wide slip, gets a streaky four. Parthiv departs. Wild slash and caught by Lamichhane at third man. He departs for 9 runs. RCB are 16/1
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16:05: A lot of bounce on offer from the pitch. Decent start for RCB. RCB 6/0 after 1 Over.
16:00: Parthiv Patel and Virat Kohli to open RCB batting. Ishant Sharma to start proceedings for DC.
15:55: Average first innings score at Bengaluru is 189. Kohli will be looking for a score somewhere near 200. They have the ammo but will they be able to do it. Even 200 wasn't sufficient the other day against KKR.
15:51: It is a hot afternoon but temperatures will start to drop as the game progresses. Hosts RCB will be looking to resurrect their campaign. Delhi will be coming after a loss to SRH and a shocking loss against KXIP.
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15:33 Shreyas Iyer has won the toss and DC opt to bowl. He is of the opinion that they would love to assess the wicket first. Kohli says he would have also loved to have bowled first. No changes in either team. RCB are in their green outfits as a part of the green initiative.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli(C), Parthiv Patel (WK), AB de Villiers, Moeen Ali, Marcus Stoinis, Akshdeep Nath, Pawan Negi, Tim Southee, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj
Delhi Capitals: Shreyas Iyer(C) Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant(WK), Colin Ingram, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Axar Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Sandeep Lamichhane
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Virat Kohli and Co. will be desperate for their first win. It is to be seen what team combination they will select for today's clash against Delhi Capitals. Virat Kohli should probably bring in Washington Sundar who can also bat decently. Drop Mooen Ali and get in Heinrich Klassen.
Kohli and AB de Villiers were good with the bat and they definitely form the core of the team. While their batting let them down in a few matches, their bowlers let them down in those matches when their batsmen put up runs on board. Kohli will have to find a way to get back to winning ways to stay alive in the tournament.
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The hosts Delhi Capitals have their own share of problems too. They have managed two wins out of their 5 matches. After a poor batting display against SunRisers Hyderabad, Delhi will be hoping that their batsmen shoulder more responsibility.
The likes of Dhawan, Pant, Iyer, Ingram, etc. have shined in patches but they need to carry the form into the tournament. Rabada has been exceptional for DC. Delhi might be tempted to play three spinners on this track. Probably Amit Mishra can join Rahul Tewatia and Sandeep Lamichhane in the playing XI.
RCB will be more hungry for success, given its high time they put some points on board and get that first victory off the hat. Given the dimension of the Chinnaswamy ground, the order of the day will be probably to win the toss and put the opposition to bat.
