Despite our efforts, the Delhi Capitals could not prevail, with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru securing victory at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday, 27 April.
It required significant contributions with the bat for us to surpass the 160-run mark. Although we began strongly with the ball, a formidable partnership between Virat Kohli and Krunal Pandya ultimately shifted the momentum and took the game beyond our reach.
Earlier in the evening, RCB won the toss and chose to bowl. Abishek Porel got us off to a flying start, smashing 28 runs off 11 balls. A returning Faf du Plessis anchored from the other end, but the wickets kept falling in the Powerplay.
Following the quick dismissals of Abishek Porel and Karun Nair, run-scoring became a bit difficult after the conclusion of the sixth over. Faf du Plessis departed after contributing 22 runs, while captain Axar Patel, who showed promise during his brief innings, was dismissed for 15.
KL Rahul, who was trying to hold one end to go big in the final overs, perished in an attempt to up the ante and the pressure was right back on us. However, Tristan Stubbs came to the rescue in some style.
Alongside Vipraj Nigam, Stubbs put up a quickfire 38-run partnership in only 14 balls to give us a strong finish on this sluggish batting track. We finished with 162/8 in 20 overs.
After the break, Axar Patel took the new ball and led our charge from the front. In his second over, Jacob Bethell was first caught at deep square while Devdutt Padikkal chopped it onto the stumps two deliveries later.
RCB skipper Rajat Patidar was next on the list as he was run out courtesy of a sensational direct hit by Karun Nair. The visiting team could only manage 35 runs in the powerplay, and at the halfway stage, the required rate was nearly 10.
Krunal Pandya and Virat Kohli put up a solid stand, accumulating big overs regularly to head closer to the target. Both batters registered half-centuries as their partnership accounted for 119 runs.
Following Kohli’s dismissal, Tim David and Krunal Pandya guided Royal Challengers Bengaluru past the target.
The action resumes in less than 48 hours in Delhi, as we host Kolkata Knight Riders in our penultimate home game of the season.
Brief Scores:
Delhi Capitals 162/8 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 41, Tristan Stubbs 34) lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru 165/4 in 18.3 overs (Krunal Pandya 73*, Virat Kohli 51; Axar Patel 2/19)
Player of the match: Krunal Pandya
