Staff Reporter.
Virat Kohli’s excellent half century followed by a fine all-round bowling display helped Royal Challengers Bangalore win the battle of the Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) strugglers by 23 runs against Delhi Capitals in Bengaluru on Saturday.
The former India captain struck a breezy 50 off 34 balls (6 fours, 1 six) as the hosts stuttered to what appeared to be a below-par 174 for six after they lost the toss and were asked to bat first at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
But inspired by debutant seamer Vijaykumar Vyshak, who claimed 3-20, they responded by blowing away the visitors and restricting them to 151 for nine – leaving them as the only winless side in the competition after five matches played.
Mohammed Siraj (2-23) and Proteas allrounder Wayne Parnell (1-28) also impressed in a result that handed RCB their second win of the campaign and lifted them into a mid-table log-jam alongside four other teams on four points.
They were full value for their win too, even though they appeared to have sold themselves short slightly with the bat by making the wrong decision and introducing a specialist batter as an impact substitute.
Nonetheless, that choice mattered little in the end as they overcame their poor finish and being on the wrong end of a team-hat-trick to win their basement battle.
At the start, Delhi’s bowlers all struggled during the first half of the innings when Kohli and the RCB top-order impressed.
Along with captain Faf du Plessis (22), the pair put on 42 for the first wicket in 4.4 overs, before the South African was splendidly caught by Aman Khan off Mitchell Marsh (2-18), playing his first game of the campaign, at midwicket – the fielder leaping into the air to stop the speeding ball, which he popped up and held on to at he fell to the ground.
An Uphill Battle For Delhi
Kohli, though, kept going and added a further 47 with Mahipal Lomror for the next wicket when he himself fell to Lalit Yadav (1-29) full toss with the score on 89.
Lomror managed to reach 26 before becoming Marsh’s second victim, just as Glenn Maxwell (24) began to hit the accelerate button.
However, the wheels came off from there with the home side slipping from 132 for three to add just 42 more to their total in the final six overs.
The latter was the second man to fall in a team hat-trick when Harshal Patel (6) was adjudged to have edged Axar Patel (1-25) behind at the end of the 14th over, followed by Kuldeep Yadav (2-23) removing the Australian and Dinesh Karthik (0) at the start of the 15th.
That was when sub Anuj Rawat (15* off 22 balls) was sent in ahead of Sri Lankan hitter Wanindu Hasaranga, playing his first game of the term after returning from international duty, and Wayne Parnell leading to the RCB innings petering out at the end as they set 175.
Rawat, though, made amends for his below-par showing by brilliantly running out fellow sub Prithvi Shaw for a duck when he fielded sharply at extra cover, quickly got to his feet and then threw down the one stump he got to aim at in the first over.
Parnell then took out Marsh for a four-ball duck, and when Yash Dhull (1) was trapped leg before wicket by Siraj in the third over, Delhi were at sea three down with only two on the board.
It was always going to be an uphill battle from there. Vyshak outfoxed captain David Warner (19) for his first reached IPL wicket, while Manish Pandey (50 off 38 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) threw caution to the wind on his way to a half century as wickets tumbled around him.
Late hitting by Aman (18) and Anrich Nortje (23* off 14 balls) did little but add more respectability to the scoreline of what was another heavy defeat for the visitors.
Teams:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (capt), Virat Kohli, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wkt), Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Wayne Parnell, Mohammed Siraj, Vijaykumar Vyshak.
Delhi Capitals: David Warner (capt), Mitchell Marsh, Yash Dhull, Manish Pandey, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Aman Khan, Abishek Porel (wkt), Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Mustafizur Rahman.