It was a nerve-wracking contest between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals in IPL 2021. It came down to the last ball as Delhi Capitals needed 6 with Rishabh Pant on strike to Mohammed Siraj.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore speedster executed a perfect wide delivery which Pant could only hit for a boundary. It was an outstanding last over from Siraj and RCB won by 1 run.
Royal Challengers Bangalore win a thriller against Delhi Capitals at Ahmedabad
Pant will be extremely disappointed as he couldn’t take his team over the finish line. The RCB bowling was outstanding and they defended the target of 173 runs.
In the first half of the match, the great Ab de Villiers once again delivered for his side. He smashed 75 in 42 deliveries and took RCB to a total of above 170 runs which proved to be match-winning.
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Who Said What?
With yet another victory Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore once again go on top of the IPL 2021 table. Meanwhile here’s what the captains and the man of the match said in the post-match presentation.
“Obviously feeling disappointed, specially when you are on the losing side. They got 10-15 runs extra on this wicket. Hetty (Hetmyer) played a brilliant innings, because of him we got close to the target. In the last over, we were thinking whoever gets the ball has to finish the job for the team. That’s what we were planning, in the end we were one run short”.
“We counted the overs really well, in the end the spinners weren’t getting the help that we thought they might get. In the end, I had to give the ball to Stoinis. It’s good to take positives from all the matches. As a young team, we like to learn from each and every game and want to improve each and every day”, said Rishabh Pant.
“At one stage I thought it was getting away, but Siraj’s final over gave us confidence and we thought he would manage a professional and clincal job. If there weren’t fielding lapses it wasn’t going to go this far anyway. We lost wickets but AB went berserk and then in the last few overs while bowling Hetmyer got hold of a few, otherwise we were in control. There was no dew tonight thanks to that sandstorm, and we bowled with a dry ball, so that made a difference”
“Maxi is still not bowling, he’s the 7th option, so we have enough options to do the job for us. We always had batting depth, but now we have a lot of bowling options too. I choose to be optimistic, but captaining for too long does make you nervous. I invariably go with the gut feel of the bowler. AB doesn’t like me saying this, but he hasn’t played competitive cricket for 5 months, and given that, AB’s innings was absolutely top-notch as he has done time and again for us”, said Virat Kohli after the win.
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“The shot over extra cover was certainly one of the best shots, but the one over midwicket off KG was my best one. I don’t often get him away, but I’m happy I managed to get him away for that one. It’s important to be fresh for every game. I worked out at home and during the quarantine in the hotel room, and now it’s just about managing ourselves throughout the tournament and being fresh when we go out there to play. We have some experienced heads and some young Indian bowlers who have done well internationally recently. They come in with a lot of confidence. Myself, Virat and Maxi chip in with some help when we can too. I forced myself to say a bit more behind the stumps, thanks to Yuzi who urged me to do it”, said the man of the match Ab de Villiers.