RCB stay alive in race to IPL 2024 playoffs with another comprehensive win over DC

It almost feels like a dream now for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru as they racked up their fifth consecutive win to keep their play-off hopes alive until the 18th of May, the penultimate day of the group stages where Faf and company will be locking horns with one of the most formidable foes, Chennai Super Kings.

With rain ahead of the game, the toss was an important factor going into this crucial fixture and as the fortune Gods would have it, Axar Patel won the flip of the coin and asked RCB to bat first.

The hosts had an early hiccup as they lost their captain, Faf du Plessis (6) early while things went further haywire when the leading run-getter of the tournament, Virat Kohli, fell for 27. Wobbling at 36/2, Rajat Patidar and Will Jacks joined forces in the center.

There were a few early jitters though that had to be shaken off with quite a handful of chances going down or landing safely for Patidar and Jacks. But once the early storm was weathered, the duo unleashed their fury, charging at the Capitals all guns blazing.

Patidar (52) and Jacks (41) added 88 runs for the third wicket, propelling RCB to a phenomenal platform from which they could launch later in the innings. Much to RCB’s woes however, the surface took a different turn altogether and as soon as the ball softened, it became incredibly difficult to strike.

Despite the overwhelming odds however, Cameron Green looked in fine touch, hammering away an unbeaten 32 off just 24 balls, helping RCB rack up 187/9. With the kind of firepower that DC came to the game in, featuring the likes of Jake Fraser-McGurk, David Warner and Tristan Stubbs, the hosts needed something special to keep their play-off hopes alive.

Swapnil Singh produced that all-important early breakthrough which bagged him the crucial scalp of David Warner (1) as the Aussie opener holed out to Jacks in the deep, trying to carve a maximum. Despite Jake Fraser-McGurk’s early belligerence against Siraj, the introduction of Yash Dayal claimed the cream of the visitors’ batting line-up.

His first haul of the evening was Abhishek Porel (2) as Lockie Ferguson took a comfortable catch while sending the concourse in Chinnaswamy in frenetic raptures, one of those straight drives from Shai Hope deflected off his hand and went onto rattle the timber at the other end with Fraser-McGurk (21) short of his crease.

Siraj dealt another telling blow in the next over as Kumar Kushagra (2) was caught with his pads dawdling right in front of the stumps and the former’s mind-rattling pace was enough to leave him undone. Wobbling at 30/4, the Capitals pinned their hopes on Axar Patel and Shai Hope to come to their deliverance.

The duo did well to get the wheels back in motion for the visitors but Lockie Ferguson, who has been in stunning touch off late, once again conjured another important breakthrough as he produced the all-important mishit from Hope while a rushing Karn Sharma latched onto a sizzling grab to rattle the partnership.

Shortly thereafter a ginormous mix-up in the center followed by laserlike precision from Cameron Green to rattle the stumps at the other end while Tristan Stubbs couldn’t make the dash got RCB back on track and well in position to eye another emphatic win.

The only impediment that remained between RCB’s fifth victory on the bounce and DC’s decline was a battling Axar Patel. The DC skipper kept on fighting with everything he had in his arsenal but it was Yash Dayal who caught him off-guard and Faf du Plessis bagged another excellent catch to get rid of the dangerman.

RCB clinched a 47-run win to dismantle Delhi Capitals while keeping the hopes alive till their clash against Chennai Super Kings. Yash Dayal was the pick of the lot with figures of 3/20 while Lockie Ferguson complimented him with figures of 2/23. Cameron Green was adjudged as the Player of the Match for his excellent show with the bat laced with incredible bowling figures and the all-important run-out of Tristan Stubbs.