Delhi Capitals outclassed Royal Challengers Bangalore by 59 runs at the Dubai International Stadium on Monday. A fourth win in five matches took DC to the top of the IPL points table.
Faced with a huge target of 197, RCB stumbled to a disappointing 137 for 9. Only Virat Kohli (43, 39b, 2x4, 1x6) got among the runs for RCB, and when the skipper edged pacer Kagiso Rabada to the wicketkeeper, it was game over.
Rabada added three more wickets to his kitty, returning figures of four for 24.
Axar, Nortje shine
Axar Patel (two for 18), Anrich Nortje (two for 22) and R. Ashwin (one for 26) were impressive as well, choking the RCB batters by keeping a tight line and length. Spinners Axar and Ashwin were not afraid to give the ball air, tempting batsmen into playing false shots.
Nortje contributed by getting the key wicket of A.B. de Villiers (9, 6b, 2x4), whose slog only went as far as Shikhar Dhawan at mid-wicket.
Earlier, Marcus Stoinis (53 n.o., 26b, 6x4, 2x6) and Rishabh Pant (37, 25b, 3x4, 2x6) provided the late impetus to carry DC to a big total.
Delhi Capitals batsman Marcus Stoinis in action during the IPL 2020 match against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Dubai on October 5, 2020.
Stoinis and Pant came together when DC was struggling for momentum, at 90 for three. The duo got cracking, putting on an 89-run stand in 6.5 overs. Stoinis, his muscular frame exuding power, notched up his second fifty of the tournament.
Openers Prithvi Shaw (42, 23b, 5x4, 2x6) and Dhawan (32, 28b, 3x4) gave DC a good start, scoring 68 in 6.4 overs.
It took a brilliant catch to get rid of form batsman Shreyas Iyer (11, 13b, 1x4). Shreyas struck a full delivery from Moeen Ali to deep mid-wicket, where Devdutt Padikkal threw the ball in the air before stepping out of the field of play and then jumping back in to claim the catch.
RCB spinner Washington Sundar was once again impressive, giving just 20 runs in his four overs.
Saini, on the other hand, was not at his best. The fast-bowler delivered a dangerous beamer to Stoinis, just a couple of days after hitting Rajasthan Royals’ Rahul Tewatia with a speedy beamer. That Saini did not immediately apologise to Stoinis is sure to raise eyebrows.
Scoreboard
Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw c de Villiers b Siraj 42; Shikhar Dhawan c Moeen b Udana 32; Shreyas Iyer c Devdutt Padikkal b Moeen 11; Rishabh Pant b Siraj 37; Marcus Stoinis not out 53; Shimron Hetmyer not out 11. Extras: (lb-4, w-4, nb-2) 8
Total: 196/4 in 20 overs
Fall of wickets: 1-68, 2-82, 3-90, 4-179
Royal Challengers Bangalore bowling: Isuru Udana 4-0-40-1 Washington 4-0-20-0 Navdeep Saini 3-0-48-0, Yuzvendra Chahal 3-029-0, Mohammed Siraj 4-0-34-2, Moeen Ali 2-0-21-1.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Devdutt Padikkal c Stoinis b Ashwin 4; Aaron Finchc Pant b Axar 13; Virat Kohli (c)c Pant b Rabada 43; AB de Villiers c Dhawan b Nortje 9; Moeen Ali c Hetmyer b Axar 11; Washington Sundar c Ashwin b Rabada 17; Shivam Dube b Rabada 11; Isuru Udana c Shreyas Iyer b Rabada 1; Navdeep Saini not out 12; Mohammed Siraj b Nortje 5; Yuzvendra Chahal not out 0. Extras: (lb-4, w-7) 11
Total: (for 9 wickets in 20 Overs) 137
Fall of Wickets: 1-20, 2-27, 3-43, 4-75, 5-94, 6-115, 7-118, 8-119, 9-127.
Delhi Capitals bowling: Kagiso Rabada 4-0-24-4, Anrich Nortje4-0-22-2, Ravichandran Ashwin 4-0-26-1, Axar Patel 4-0-18-2, Harshal Patel 4-0-43-0.
