In New Delhi, ardent fans were waiting for a Virat Kohli homecoming to cherish and an RCB victory. In the sweltering Sunday evening, both their wishes came true as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) overpowered Delhi Capitals (DC) by six wickets and topped the IPL 2025 table at Arun Jaitley Stadium.
DC managed only a paltry 162/8 despite a well-restrained bowling effort by RCB due to Bhuvneshwar Kumar's 3-33, Josh Hazlewood's 2-36, and an eight-over combined effort by Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma who together conceded just 50 runs for their 8 overs. Although in a bit of trouble at 108/4 in 15 overs, Tristan Stubbs' late coming 34 off 18 balls helped DC cross the 160-mark.
And in return, RCB's pursuit was having a jittery start, the team being left at 26/3 in an instant. Krunal Pandya saved the team from this, ridding himself of the rust from the first week to get a perfect 73 off 47 balls, five fours and four sixes to his name. Suited very nicely by Virat Kohli, who clubbed his sixth fifty of the year, scoring 51 from 47 balls. The duo put together 119 for the fourth wicket, with Kane taking the aggressive role and Kohli playing the rock of the innings in this partnership.
Tim David then finished the chase in style, with an unbeaten 21 off five balls, as RCB maintained their impeccable away record and winning run chases in the season.
DC had begun in style, Abishek Porel thrashing 28 off 11 balls in a jaw-dropping display of timing. The flipper shots, the flick for four, the slog for six, and the pick-up sweep were the ones which stunned. But Hazlewood clipped his rhythm by taking glove a pull to the keeper.
DC was not able to cash in on this start, Karun Nair walking after top-edging a pull. While RCB bowlers used tight lines and took away some grip from the wicket, DC could not score easily. Faf du Plessis was also dismissed by Krunal, and although KL Rahul and Axar Patel did attempt to recover the innings somehow or other, it came late. Rahul was settled nicely, scoring from Suyash and Dayal, and Axar used to attack Krunal with a six. But Hazlewood put an end to the stand by knocking over Axar's stumps.
Pressure on DC just continued mounting, and during the 17th over, Bhuvneshwar dispatched Rahul, impact man Ashutosh Sharma getting bowled away by a leg-cutter. Tristan Stubbs provided a flourish late in the game with back-to-back fours and a single six, taking DC past 160. Even when Bhuvneshwar dismissed him in the final over, the total was still below par.
RCB's chase was off to a tough start, with Jacob Bethell and Devdutt Padikkal getting dismissed early, and Rajat Patidar being dismissed. But Kohli and Pandya steadied the nerves, with Kohli taking on Kuldeep Yadav for a boundary and Pandya showing the bowlers dominance with sixes and fours, two of them maximums off Mukesh Kumar.
Pandya scored his fifty off 38 balls and despite being dropped at 54, he kept on dominating. Kohli also reached his fifty off 45 balls and along with him, they took RCB to the victory path. Kohli was undone when he lofted one to long-off, but Tim David ended the game with a couple of well-played strokes, one being a six and another a four, to get a convincing win with nine balls remaining.
Brief Scores:
Delhi Capitals: 162/8 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 41, Tristan Stubbs 34; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3-33, Josh Hazlewood 2-36)
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 165/4 in 18.3 overs (Krunal Pandya 73* not out, Virat Kohli 51; Axar Patel 2-19, Dushmantha Chameera 1-24)
RCB won by six wickets.
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