IPL 2020: Delhi Capitals defeat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 6 wickets

Delhi Capitals (DC) defeated Royal Challengers Banagalore (RCB) by 6 wickets but both the teams qualified for the IPL 2020 play-offs stage on the basis of a better Net Run Rate (NRR) than Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Also, the win assured a top-two finish in the league stage for DC. Now, the winner of the match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will decide the 4th team to enter the next stage. A SRH loss would see KKR get over the line and vice-versa.

If DC would have have won the match inside 17.3 overs then RCB's NRR would have gone below KKR's. Thereafter, Bangalore's play-offs hope would have totally depended on the result of SRH vs MI match. Only Hyderabad's loss could have helped them in qualifying for the next stage.

On the flip side, Delhi losing the match by 19 or more runs margin would have seen them go through the aforementioned scenario explained for RCB.

Delhi Capitals chased the 153-run target in 19 overs and therefore RCB also qualified on Monday.

Delhi Capitals openers Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan started off well but the former was castled by a brilliant out-wing delivery from Mohammed Siraj on the fifth ball of second over. Before RCB could fantasy their chance to crawl back in the game after an putting average 152 on the board, experienced campaigners Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane brought in all their experience to take the game completely away from Virat Kohli's men.

Rahane, who had failed to do much in the previous 5 chances he had got in the tournament, played some classic shots to give his more aggressive partner Dhawan a free hand. Dhawan completed his third fifty of the season off 37 balls in the 12th over. Delhi were at 107 for 2 in 12.4 overs when left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed dismissed the southpaw, who was caught by Shivam Dube while trying to play a lap shot.

Ajinkya Rahane continued with the good show and borught up his 28th IPL fifty off as many balls taken by



Dhawan to complete his. 23 runs were needed off 22 balls and it looked as Rahane with captain Shreyas Iyer will see their team through but Ahmed for the 2nd time to dismiss the latter in the 17th over. Rahane also departed in the next over but Rishabh Pant and Marcus Stoinis later assure that DC achieve the 153-run target in 19 overs.

RCB's batting innings

After asking RCB to bat first, DC bowlers built pressure straight away and did not give much room in the first 4 overs. Kagiso Rabada reaped the dividend in the 5th over by sending Joshua Phillippe (12) back in the pavilion. Virat Kohli walked in next and stitched a slow 57-run partnership off 50 balls with Devdutt Padikkal, who was looking in a good touch again. The RCB captain was dropped at a personal score of 13 but he failed to capitalise on the lifeline and got out on a Ravichandran Ashwin delivery in the 13 overs. Notably, this was for the first time that the Delhi tweaker hunted down his India captain in the IPL.

With 82 runs on the board and 45 balls remaining at the time of Kohli's departure, Padikkal and the new man in AB de Villiers decided to accelerate the innings. The duo collected 30 runs from 19 balls before Padikkal (50) was castled by a 153 kmph ripper by Anrich Nortje. The South African quick tightened Delhi's grip further by getting compatriot Chris Morris after a span of one delivery.

Shivam Dube, Gurkeerat Mann's replacement in the match, joined AB de Villiers in the 16th over and did exactly what was expected of him. He targeted Daniel Sams in the 18th over and smashed a six and a four to help RCB collect 19 runs from the 18th over.

The 19th over saw de Villiers welcoming Rabada with a massive six over deep square leg. Dube chipped in with a boundary again but fell on the final delivery of the over. Bangalore needed five runs in the final over to touch the 150-run mark and they somehow managed to by finishing their innings at 152/7 but only by losing AB de Villiers and Isuru Udana on the 2nd and 4th delivery.