Royal Challengers Bangalore kept their hopes of playoffs alive with a 5 wicket win over Delhi Daredevils in the 45th match of VIVO IPL 2018 played at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, New Delhi. RCB captain Kohli won the toss and fielded first. Good knocks by Pant and young Abhishek Sharma helped DD post a competitive total. While chasing it was the Kohli and de Villiers show who batted well.
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to field first. Yuzvendra Chahal dismissed young Shaw in the very first over for 2 runs, then dismissed Jason Roy for 12 runs to leave Delhi Daredevils at 16 for 2. Pant continued his superb form in the IPL with another aggressive inning. At the end of 6 overs, Delhi Daredevils scored 44 for 2.
After the power play overs, ended Pant played with positive intent while DD captain Iyer struggled to time the ball. Pant reached his half-century off 27 balls. Both Pant and Iyer added 93 runs for the 3rd wicket before Pant was brilliantly caught by de Villiers at the boundary for 61. Iyer also was dismissed soon after for 32.
The young under 19 batsman Abhishek Sharma came to the crease and showed his batting skills with some clean hitting. In the last 5.5 overs, Delhi Daredevils scored 65 runs. Sharma remained not out on 46 off 19 balls while Vijay Shankar remained not out on 21. Both of them added 61 runs for the 5th wicket.
For Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chahal was the pick of bowlers with 2 wickets for 28 runs. It was a good competitive total for Delhi Daredevils.
Chasing 182, Delhi Daredevils got the early wicket of Moeen Ali for just 1 run. Nepal bowler Sandeep Lamichhane dismissed Parthiv Patel for 6 runs. Virat Kohli played with positive intent putting pressure on DD bowlers. At the end of 6 overs, RCB scored 58 runs for 2.
After the power play overs ended both Kohli and AB de Villiers played outstanding shots. Captain Kohli reached his half-century off 26 balls while South African genius completed his half-century off 28 balls. Both Kohli and AB de Villiers added 118 runs for the 3rd wicket.
Mandeep Singh and Sarfaraz Khan played few big shots before getting out. AB de Villiers remained not out on 72 helping RCB to win by 5 wickets with 1 over to spare.
RCB 187 for 5 in 19 overs ( AB de Villiers 72, Virat Kohli 70, Trent Boult 2/40) beat
DD 181 for 4 in 20 overs ( Pant 61, Abhishek Sharma 46*, Yuzvendra Chahal 2/28) by 5 wickets.
DD captain Iyer said: I thought 180 was more than enough. Lots of positives for our team with the bat. Our bowling has let down as we are not able to defend totals. Pant batted superbly again and Abishek Sharma was superb with the bat as he was making his debut. We would look to make a strong comeback in the next game.
RCB captain Virat Kohli said: Right time to get the win. The points table is wide open. Bowling first in these type of games is easier. Really happy tonight. 181 was a tough total but AB de Villiers told me at the break that we would this total. Wanted to finish with 3 overs to spare and get the net run rate up.
Man of the match AB de Villiers: I started slowly as Virat Kohli was batting well which helped me a lot. Felt confident after 10-15 balls. Delhi Daredevils youngsters proved their worth with the bat. Look to gain confidence in the coming matches.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will take on Chennai Super Kings at MCA Stadium, Pune in the opening match tomorrow while Mumbai Indians face Rajasthan Royals in an all-important match at Wankedhe Stadium, Mumbai.
