Royal Challengers Bangalore brush aside Delhi Capitals as bowlers put up a stellar show

Not all the teams in the latest edition of the IPL have successfully defended a total slightly north of the 170-mark, particularly on batting-friendly tracks where the batters have made ultimate merry.

Known as the bowler’s graveyard, Chinnaswamy has produced massive scores in the ongoing tournament, particularly in the game between RCB and LSG, where 425 runs were scored from 40 overs. Defying almost insurmountable odds, RCB managed to get themselves enlisted in the glistening catalogue of those teams who successfully defended 174 runs on a dead-beat batting surface.

Winning the toss, David Warner wanted to bowl first but RCB’s imperious opening pair of Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis subjected the struggling Capitals to further woes. Kohli was absolutely bang on with his shot selection while Faf du Plessis turned the heat on early in the fixture. The duo piled up 42 runs from the first 28 balls, before Mitchell Marsh bagged Faf’s wicket after the RCB skipper scored a 16-ball 22.

However, RCB’s batting unit didn’t slow down post Faf’s dismissal and in a surprise move, they introduced Mahipal Lomror higher up the order and the young southpaw wasted no time in showcasing his hard-hitting flair. Virat Kohli continued his exquisite stroke play while Lomror attacked well and the duo stitched together 47 runs from just 33 balls before Lalit Yadav got the better of the right-hander after he got to his 50.

Lomror hung around and played the perfect two-to-tango to a truculent Glenn Maxwell, who started his rampage from the very onset, disallowing the Capitals to settle down. Despite the change of gears, things started going south for the Red and Gold Army as they lost four wickets in a span of just 15 runs.

Teetering at 132/6, Anuj Rawat and Shahbaz Ahmed stood tall as RCB finished at 174/6, with Shahbaz remaining unbeaten for a 12-ball 20 while his partner scored 15 runs.

Just when it felt that Delhi was sniffing around their maiden victory of the season, RCB jolted them to a rude awakening. Rawat sent Prithvi Shaw packing for a duck with a fabulous direct hit at the non-striker’s end while Wayne Parnell removed Mitchell Marsh for a duck soon after. Yash Dhull was the next one to depart for a paltry single as Mohammed Siraj trapped him plumb in front of the stumps.

In troubled waters at 2/3, it was their captain David Warner who would pair along with Manish Pandey to provide them with the hope that they so desperately wanted to go their way. The pair of Pandey and Warner knitted a 28-run stand for the fourth wicket but before they could smash it big, debutant Vyshak Vijaykumar was in action as he foxed the Aussie for his debut IPL wicket.

Warner’s wicket was the first among three scalps from the match for Vyshak, who finished with magical figures of 3/20 on debut. Mohammed Siraj produced another cracker of a spell, registering figures of 2/23 from his four overs. Knitting the death spells in unison, the bowling unit was back to its majestic best as RCB drubbed the Delhi Capitals by 23 runs.