I’m very proud of the bowlers tonight: Faf du Plessis heaps praise on seamers as RCB stamp their authority over ailing Delhi Capitals

The Royal Challengers Bangalore regained winning momentum as they rocked the Delhi Capitals in a clinical display of precision, both with the bat and the ball. Virat Kohli led the way with the bat, putting up his 3rd half-century in four matches, while handy knocks from Glenn Maxwell, Faf du Plessis and towards the end, Shahbaz Ahamad, propelled RCB to 174. 

The bowlers put up a staunch shift as debutant Vyshak Vijaykumar and the experienced Mohammed Siraj spewed fire in tandem, snaring five wickets between them. There was ample support from the remaining bowlers as well which saw RCB securing a 23-run win despite somewhat of a modest total on a batting-conducive surface.

Talking in the post-match presentation, Faf talked about the challenges that RCB dealt with and how they managed to overcome the same. Faf said, “We, unfortunately, have had to defend a few games in a row now at the Chinnaswamy and it's not always easy so I'm very proud of the bowlers tonight. It's difficult because it's the first day game of the season and also with the new rule now with the extra batter, you always feel like you need to get more.”

The RCB skipper further shed some light on why totals as ginormous as 200 have felt like a cakewalk, adding, “So even at halfway stage, 175 in a day game usually feels like a really good score but it's just that unknown factor with the extra batter but it proved to be the right score.”

He concluded by speaking highly about his fast bowlers, stating, “The way we bowled in that first six overs, not only today but so far in all the games, Siraj is bowling beautifully. In a game where it's a bit slower the wicket, generally, the first six overs are the most important with the bat. You want to try to play positive and get ahead of the rate but the way we bowled was just unbelievable. So huge credit to our seamers in the first six."