DC vs RCB: What experts said as both teams qualify for playoffs

Touted to be one of the most interesting match-ups, a virtual quarterfinal eventually ended up being a dull game with both the teams qualifying for the playoffs of the Indian Premier League 2020. However, the game in Abu Dhabi at least ensured that the Delhi Capitals were finally back into their groove as they beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore quite comfortably by six wickets in the penultimate match of the round-robin league of the tournament.

The win was more than good enough for not only DC to qualify but also RCB, as it came with only six balls left in the innings. Anrich Nortje with the ball and veterans in Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan with the bat were the stars for the Capitals in this game.

Captains’ Viewpoints

Reacting to the victory, Delhi captain Shreyas Iyer said that he was ‘very chuffed with the performance’ of his team.  

Calling it a do or die game for his team, Iyer said that it was the performances of the teams in the second half of the table that made the tournament interesting. “We knew it was a do-or-die and an opportunity for us to get to the second spot. We were really motivated. The teams winning in the latter half completely changed the scenario of the table and it was really commendable,” he said.  

Impressed with the bowlers, the 25-year-old said that he was happy with how things worked out for the quicks, especially Nortje. “[I am] really happy with how the tournament has gone so far. The bowlers were really up with their plans and they knew what they had to execute. Nortje was really good and it worked out pretty well. Kudos to the way the bowlers bowled,” he said.

Going into the tournament Delhi were one of the strongest teams. Impressing upon this, the Capitals skipper said that they also knew it and therefore stuck to the basics to achieve results in their favour. “We are one of the best teams in the tournament and we need to stick to the basics and if we try and execute our plans, the results will come,” Iyer concluded.

Calling the match as a ‘mixed bag’, RCB captain Virat Kohli said that all the teams come to games to try and get a result their way, but every time it won’t go as planned.  

Talking about the target of making sure that Delhi batted beyond 17.3 overs for RCB to qualify for the Playoffs, Kohli said that it was only after the 11^th over that the management told him about any such equation. “Even if the game was drifting away, we controlled the middle overs well enough,” he added.

Saying that he deserved to be in the playoffs, Kohli cited the way his team played throughout the season as the prime reason for that. “I think we've played good enough cricket in this tournament to qualify.” He further said, “We have two games to the final now. We can be braver in the back end, probably be better in the powerplay (with the ball) which has been our strength.”

Expert Opinion

The experts in this game seemed generally happy with the outcome of the match, especially with the Capitals coming back to form and called tomorrow’s game as the deciding factor on who qualifies.

Calling it a fair deal that both DC and RCB qualified, Harsha Bhogle said that they deserved it.

Ayaz Memon, veteran cricket analyst who had smelled ‘rot’ in Delhi Capitals after their four losses on a trot, complimented the team for fighting back.

Vimal Kumar, a senior broadcast cricket journalist, in an interesting take sought to compare the South Africans in both the teams. 

Lalchand Rajput, former India international, and manager, was impressed with how Ajinkya Rahane made a comeback after going through an extremely tough phase in his limited-overs career.  

Cricketer turned commentator and analyst Aakash Chopra brought in an altogether different point as he said that he had read enough on how Delhi purposefully didn’t win the game before 17.3 overs. 

    

While Delhi Capitals would like to maintain the same level of diligence when they next take on Mumbai Indians in the Qualifiers, Royal Challengers Bangalore would look to improve their game a bit to face either Kolkata Knight Riders or Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator.

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