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Delhi Capitals's campaign in IPL 2023 went from bad to worse as they lost their fifth consecutive match, remaining at the bottom of the points table.
On April 15, Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated DC by 23 runs at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru, with a fine performance from RCB seamers defending 174 runs.
RCB's bowlers, who are often criticised for not stepping up, were switched on from the first over with Anuj Rawat's run out of Prithvi Shaw being a catalyst for a tremendous team-wide fielding effort.
Mitchell Marsh and Yash Dhull departed early, leaving the Capitals reeling at 2/3 in the third over.
Much of the drama of the chase was sucked out in the first four overs, where the damage was done by Mohammed Siraj and Wayne Parnell.
And then came Vijaykumar Vyshak to produce a brilliant spell on debut. He got rid of David Warner, who was starting to look dangerous.
Delhi lost four wickets in the Powerplay, including Warner (19 off 13 balls). After the Powerplay, the Capitals floundered at 32 for 4 with a required rate of over 10.
Axar Patel threatened for a bit, scoring 21, before Vyshak accounted for his wicket. Once Axar got out, the final overs just meandered along with Manish Pandey's half-century being a silver lining for Delhi.
Warner came to the post-match presentation and said games could not be won if the team lost three wickets in the Powerplay.
'Our batting didn't get together, and we failed to chase down a total that our bowlers did well to restrict them,' Warner told the host broadcaster after the loss.
'Once we lose three wickets inside the Powerplay, you are always behind the game.'