Bengaluru: The Delhi Capitals (DC) maintained their perfect streak in the current Indian Premier League (IPL) by securing a decisive six-wicket victory over the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday. With this win, the Capitals have climbed to second place in the points table, remaining unbeaten with four victories in as many matches, largely due to an outstanding performance by KL Rahul on a challenging pitch.
In pursuit of a target of 164, Delhi faced early setbacks, losing their openers Faf du Plessis (2) and Jake Fraser-McGurk (7) with only 10 runs on the board by the second over. Abhishek Porel soon followed, dismissed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 7, leaving DC struggling at 30/3. Captain Axar Patel attempted to stabilize the innings with a score of 15 off 11 balls before being dismissed by Suyash Sharma.
At 58/4 in 8.4 overs, the match appeared to be swinging in RCB's favor. However, KL Rahul remained composed and found a reliable partner in Tristan Stubbs. Together, they forged a crucial 111-run partnership that not only rescued Delhi from a difficult situation but also secured a convincing victory with thirteen balls remaining.
Rahul finished the match unbeaten on 93 from just 53 balls, featuring seven fours and six sixes. He demonstrated resilience, patience, and excellent timing on a pitch that made scoring challenging. His half-century came off 37 balls, and as the innings progressed, he accelerated with impressive precision.
Stubbs also played an essential supporting role. The Capitals surpassed the 100-run mark in 14.1 overs and reached 150 in 17.3 overs, concluding their chase at 169/4 in 17.5 overs.
For RCB, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the standout bowler, achieving figures of 2/26. Yash Dayal and Suyash Sharma each took one wicket, but the partnership between Rahul and Stubbs proved too formidable to dismantle.
With this victory, Delhi Capitals strengthen their position among the top two teams and maintain their unbeaten streak.
Earlier in the match, after winning the toss, Delhi Capitals' captain Axar Patel chose to bowl first against RCB.
RCB's innings began with Virat Kohli and Phil Salt as the opening pair. Salt provided a rapid start, scoring 30 runs off Mitchell Starc in the third over before being run out in the fourth over, thanks to a throw from Viraj Nigam, finishing with 37 runs off 17 balls.
Devdutt Padikkal came in to bat next, but his time at the crease was brief as Mukesh Kumar dismissed him in the final over of the power-play for just 1 run off 8 balls.
After a strong start from RCB in the first four overs, Delhi made a comeback with Mukesh Kumar, who bowled a maiden over in the sixth. At the end of the power-play, RCB was at 64/2. Vipraj Nigam achieved a significant breakthrough by taking out Virat Kohli for 22 runs off 14 balls in the seventh over.
Following Kohli's dismissal, RCB's captain Rajat Patidar continued to attack the Delhi bowling attack, hitting a straight six in the next over alongside new batter Liam Livingstone. However, RCB struggled with regular wickets falling.
Mohit Sharma claimed the wicket of Livingstone for 4 runs off 6 balls in the tenth over, as the Englishman misplayed a pull shot that was caught by Ashutosh Sharma at point. Wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma joined Patidar, and after 10 overs, RCB was at 91/4.
Jitesh Sharma fell cheaply to Kuldeep Yadav's googly, edging it straight up. He found it challenging to score, managing only three runs off 11 balls. Krunal Pandya then joined Patidar at the crease. After a resilient innings of 25 runs, captain Rajat Patidar was dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav while attempting to slog over deep mid-wicket, resulting in a simple catch for KL Rahul in the 15th over.
Krunal Pandya was dismissed by Viraj Nigam for 18 runs in the 18th over, shortly after his captain fell. This dismissal caused RCB to lose the momentum they had built during the power-play. In the 19th over, Tim David aggressively targeted Axar Patel, scoring 17 runs off him.
David partnered with Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the last two overs, contributing 38 runs for the eighth wicket. In a strong comeback, Tim David scored 32 runs in these final overs, enabling RCB to set a competitive total of 163/7. He finished unbeaten on 37 runs off 20 balls, which included two fours and four sixes.
For the Delhi Capitals, Kuldeep Yadav (2/17) and Vipraj Nigam (2/18) each claimed two wickets. Mohit Sharma (1/10) and Mukesh Kumar (1/26) also performed well during the middle overs, taking one wicket apiece. Axar Patel and Mitchell Starc did not take any wickets.
Brief score: Royal Challengers Bengaluru 163/7 (Phil Salt 37, Tim David 37*; Kuldeep Yadav 2/17) vs Delhi Capitals 169/4 (KL Rahul 93*, Tristan Stubbs 38*; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/26).
