De Villiers, Chris Gayle and a super over
The Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) have always had a gripe with the Royal Challengers Bangalore for stealing their son Virat Kohli. A Delhi boy who is now Bangalore’s adopted son, now cannot imagine playing for any other franchise but Bangalore. Despite enduring fluctuating fortunes over the 12 years, both the teams have put on some unforgettable spectacles for the cricket fans around the world. We have picked out three of the most memorable ones to revisit in this article.
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Daredevils, May 17 2012
Bangalore needed a win to stay in touch with the other contenders for the top 4. Delhi Daredevils, the opponents for the day were sitting pretty at the top of the table. RCB lost the wicket of Dilshan early in the innings, having been put in to bat. Chris Gayle was joined by Virat Kohli in the middle. Gayle took it slow at the beginning. He even played out a rare maiden over against Umesh Yadav. Kohli however, took up the attacking role. The innings was trudging along slowly, with the score at 42/1 after 6 overs.
The local boy Kohli alongside Chris Gayle put together a massive 204 runs partnership. Gayle was especially hard on Irfan Pathan and Pawan Negi. He first hit Irfan Pathan for three sixes, then repeated the same feat off three consecutive deliveries against Pawan Negi. While Gayle raced to his century, Kohli was not left far behind him, as he made a more-than-valuable score of 73 off 53 balls.
Delhi Daredevils kept themselves in the chase through former RCB batsman Ross Taylor, and the Windies’ all-rounder Andre Russell. The Daredevils however, never managed to catch up with the required rate and eventually fell short by 21.
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Daredevils, April 16 2013
A late innings nervous breakdown lead the game into a Super Over, as both RCB and the Daredevils finished their quota of 20 overs with a score of 152. Chasing a modest total by Chinnaswamy standards, RCB were cruising at one stage at 129/2 when AB De Villiers fell off the last ball of the 16th over. There still was not any necessity for concern as Virat Kohli. But, RCB messed up the chase with some headless batting which saw them lose 5 wickets within a span of 9 runs in 17 balls.
The super over began terribly for Bangalore, as Umesh Yadav landed perfect yorkers. But, AB De Villiers deposited the last two balls over the boundary for sixers which gave RCB a fighting chance with the ball. Ravi Rampaul dismissed the Aussie duo of David Warner and Ben Rohrer, as RCB tasted victory, although through a complicated route. Often, it is through moments of mistakes that we find the highest of ecstasies. Although the game should have been won in the 20 overs, RCB managed to put up a thriller for the crowd which made the game more memorable.
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Daredevils, April 21 2018
Yuzvendra Chahal stifled the Delhi openers with his sorcery, and weaved a web around Jason Roy in his opening spell, which ended with Roy’s stumps being castled. Rishabh Pant’s 85 off 48, however carried the Daredevils to a defendable 174. De Villiers, swept Shabaaz Nadeem, the Daredevils’ strike bowler again and again, en route to a 90 0ff 39 balls. The one-handed screamer at the boundary ropes by Trent Boult to dismiss Kohli was not enough as RCB romped to a 6-wicket win with 2 overs to spare.
NEXT
