Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 196/4 in 20 overs (Marcus Stoinis 53*, Prithvi Shaw 42; Mohammed Siraj 2/34)
beat
Royal Challengers Bangalore 137/9 (Virat Kohli 43, Washington Sundar 17; Kagiso Rabada 4/24) by 59 runs.
Barring the odd groundwork lapses, Delhi Capitals furnished an absolutely perfect game of cricket to elbow a queasy Royal Challengers Bangalore by 59 runs in the nineteenth match of the Indian Premier League. Marcus Stoinis' truculent 53* and Kagiso Rabada's 4/24 grabbed the honours as DC soar to the zenith of the points table on Monday, October 5 at Dubai.
Each ball a spectacle in RCB's PowerPlay
Safe to say, DC's defence blenched on a tragicomic note. Aaron Finch checked his front foot block as the return chance looped at a comfortable height to Rabada, who misjudged the pace and let slip the undisputed king of dollies. Shikhar Dhawan then shelled one at first slip before Ravichandran Ashwin curtailed his bowling action midway to warn the overambitious non-striker, Finch for a potential Mankad.
Though coach Ricky Ponting's hard-talk might have forbid the premier off-break from clipping the bails, none could prevent him from doing what he does best. Devdutt Padikkal got entangled in his spin web as a toe-edged hoick landed in cow corner's palms. Axar Patel wasted little time in taking Finch out of the equation, nicked behind to a regulation darter which turned away a smidgen. Ashwin couldn't produce a direct hit to nab big fish Virat, though AB de Villiers skying a jab high in the air proved heavy compensation.
DC plonk their foot on the opposition's throat
The scoreboard pressure now bottling up, Moeen Ali too bit the dust in an attempt to hoist Patel's full-toss into the stands. The flame kept gleaming till Kohli occupied the crease, but an undercut settling into Rishabh Pant's mitts extinguished it once and for all. The gulf between runs needed and balls left cleaved to an improbable 82 off 24, and with no miracle maker in tow, RCB had all but raised the white flags. Washington Sundar, Shivam Dubey and Isuru Udana fell victims to Rabada's razor-sharp thunderbolts while Anrich Nortje castled Mohammed Siraj in DC's coup de grâce en route a hostile triumph, which also did their NRR a world of good.
Shaw-Dhawan ping DC off to a flier
RCB upholstered their bowling resources, with offie Moeen Ali replacing an unfit Adam Zampa while Mohammed Siraj cracking the nod ahead of Gurkeerat Singh Mann. Albeit, Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan were least bothered about the names on the sheet. The left-right combo forged their third 50+ partnership of the campaign, tossing DC to a spry 63 for no loss as PowerPlay drew to a close.
The shoulders had only just begun to droop when Siraj bounced out Shaw to lend RCB a new vigour. Dhawan followed suit, yanking Isuru Udana's knuckleball straight down long-on's throat. In merely a span of three overs, DC went from riches to rags courtesy the dismissals of the well-set openers who left the job half done, yet again.
RCB's death muddle in spotlight as Stoinis goes berserk
Moeen Ali trumpeted his arrival into the attack with the prized scalp of Shreyas Iyer as Devdutt Padikkal held his nerve on the square-leg rope to contrive another boundary-juggling effort. Navdeep Saini's 15th over was quite an eventful one in the context of the match. Marcus Stoinis did ransack 17 for starters, but Yuzvendra Chahal gobbling a sitter on the mid-wicket fence denied the quick an opportunity to salvage pride. Rishabh Pant discovering his mojo coincided with RCB entering the precarious territory of death operation. Despite the left-hander perishing for an abrasive 37, a flurry of innovative jewels from Stoinis greased DC towards an above-par total.
What's next in store?
Leading the pack with eight points in five games, Delhi Capitals will look forward to riding on the wave and trouncing Rajasthan Royals in their next clash on Friday, October 9. Beaten down to size tonight, RCB will aim course correction versus Chennai Super Kings a day later in what should be a monster of a weekend tie.
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