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Images from the IPL match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru kept their hopes of advancing to the play-offs alive after thrashing Delhi Capitals by 47 runs in the IPL match in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Riding on Rajat Patidar's blazing fifty they posted a healthy 187 for 9 and then dismissed Delhi for 140 in 19.1 overs to register their fifth straight victory.
RCB now have 12 points from 13 matches, the same as Delhi Capitals, but they moved to No. 5 in the 10-team league table, a rung above Delhi Capitals, on better run-rate.
Their run-rate is +0.387 whereas Delhi's is -0.482
RCB need to beat Chennai Super Kings in the last league match in Bengaluru on May 18 to push their case for a play-offs berth, while DC also need a win in their final league game against Lucknow Super Giants on May 14 to stay in the reckoning.
Sent in to bat, Patidar (52, 32b, 3x4, 3x6) and Will Jacks (41, 29b, 3x4, 2x6) added 88 runs off 53 balls in a breezy third-wicket stand as RCB overcame the early dismissals of skipper Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli to make a strong middle passage.
In reply, the Bengaluru side bowled and fielded brilliantly. Yash Dayal (3 for 20) and Cameron Green (1 for 19) were spot on with their lengths as none of the Delhi batters save stand-in skipper Axar Patel (57 off 39 balls) got going.
Delhi capitals started on the wrong foot. 'Impact player' David Warner, who missed the action for close to a month due to a wrist injury, slog-swept left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh into the waiting hands of Will Jacks at deep.
The dismissal flagged off their train of disaster. Left-arm pacer Yash Dayal (3/20) consumed Abhishek Porel, caught in the covers by Lockie Ferguson, off the first ball of the third over.
Delhi suffered a body blow off the very next delivery when the in-form Jack-Fraser McGurk, who smashed Mohammed Siraj for two fours and a six in the second over, backed up too far and Shai Hope's straight drive rattled the stumps after taking a deflection of Dayal's outstretched left-hand.
Siraj trapped Kumar Kushagra, who came in for the suspended Rishabh Pant, plumb in front with a nip-backer as DC slumped to 30 for 4.
Axar and Hope (29, 23b) added 56 runs for the fifth wicket off 36 balls but the partnership offered only temporary relief than any real hope to the visitors.
Axar played a handy innings, but it just delayed the inevitable. The rest of the DC batters were bogged down by a confused mindset, best exemplified by the run-out of Tristan Stubbs.
Stubbs sprinted out of the non-striker's crease as if chased by a lion after Axar defended a length ball from Cameron Green, who quickly grabbed the ball and completed the simple task of hitting the stumps
Earlier, a Du Plessis slice off pacer Mukesh Kumar was gobbled up by Jack Fraser-McGurk near third man and RCB were one down for 23 in the third over.
Kohli gave signals of another T20 masterclass while creaming 27 off 13 balls, including two sixes off Ishant Sharma and one off Khaleel Ahmed (2/31).
However, a waft outside the off-stump with little foot movement resulted in a simple catch to stumper Abhishek Porel and Ishant, the bowler, indulged in a rather amusing block-Kohli celebration.
Two wickets down for just 36 in the fourth over, RCB, however, found Patidar in full flow once again. His first scoring shot was a magnificent cover driven four off Mukesh and he never let that early momentum fade.
The elegance soon gave away for brute force as Patidar brought forth his six-hitting abilities, hitting Axar Patel, the stand-in skipper of Delhi Capitals in the absence of suspended Rishabh Pant, for two sixes and sending Kuldeep Yadav over long-on for a maximum.
The Capitals fielders too helped Patidar copiously.
Shai Hope dropped the right-hander on 42 off Kuldeep and five runs later Axar grassed him off pacer Rasikh Salam.
At the other end, Jacks, who was given a reprieve on 19 by Axar off Kuldeep, displayed his hitting prowess and the left-arm wrist spinner was at the receiving end, watching the ball sailing over long-on twice.
Just as the alliance was blossoming into something more substantial, DC managed to latch on to a catch.
Axar atoned for his previous failures as he took a fine tumbling catch off Salam to terminate Patidar’s stay.
Jacks soon followed his partner, as a weak slap off Kuldeep ended up in the hands of Axar at the edge of the ring.
As it often happens, dismissals of two set batters affected the run-scoring rate of RCB from 137 for 4 in 14.4 overs. The DC bowlers too regained a semblance of their control in this phase.
Cameron Green (32 not out), who slammed Kuldeep for two successive sixes, and Mahipal Lomror (13, 8b) scored 37 off 18 balls for the fifth wicket but RCB could not gain the desired thrust in the death overs, where Khaleel and Rasikh (2/23) were excellent with their lines.
The final five overs produced just 49 runs, and that might prove crucial in deciding the final outcome.