Royal Challengers Bengaluru Triumph Over Delhi Capitals in IPL Clash

RCB Secures Victory at Arun Jaitley Stadium

Virat Kohli made a notable return to the Arun Jaitley Stadium as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) achieved a convincing win against the Delhi Capitals on Sunday.

Chasing a target of 163 runs, the team led by Rajat Patidar completed the task with nine balls remaining. This victory elevates RCB to the top of the league standings with 14 points, serving as a sweet revenge after their earlier defeat to DC at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Despite the win being gratifying, RCB faced a challenging start, losing three quick wickets during the powerplay and finding themselves at 26/3 by the fourth over.

Delhi Capitals' captain Axar Patel recognized the importance of early wickets to enhance their chances, especially after posting a modest score of 162 on a ground with short boundaries.

In a bold strategy, Axar opened the bowling and quickly took two wickets in the powerplay. Jacob Bethell was caught brilliantly by Karun Nair at deep square leg, followed by Devdutt Padikkal, who was bowled after chopping a delivery onto his stumps. Soon after, Patidar was run out by Nair at the non-striker’s end, putting DC in a strong position as RCB managed only 35 runs in the first six overs.

However, a resilient fourth-wicket partnership between Kohli and Krunal Pandya, who was named Man of the Match, kept RCB in contention. Their impressive 119-run partnership off just 84 balls shifted the momentum in RCB's favor.

Pandya initially struggled to find boundaries but soon regained his rhythm, becoming the more aggressive partner. He finished unbeaten on 73, hitting five fours and four sixes to guide his team to victory.

Kohli, now the leading run-scorer of the season, played a crucial role as the anchor, scoring a determined fifty. He was dismissed after being caught at the boundary by Mitchell Starc off Dushmantha Chameera's bowling, leaving RCB needing just 18 runs from 12 balls. Tim David then sealed the win with a quick-fire 19 runs off five balls.

Earlier, Delhi Capitals struggled to build momentum, finishing with a total of 162 runs for the loss of eight wickets. At one point, their scoring rate was just over seven runs per over, managing only 117 runs by the end of the sixteenth over. Tristan Stubbs' quick 34 runs off 18 balls helped elevate their score, alongside a partnership with Vipraj Nigam that added 38 runs in just 15 balls.

Brief scores: Delhi Capitals: 162/8 in 20 overs (Rahul 41, Stubbs 34; Bhuvneshwar 3/33, Hazlewood 2/36); Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 165/4 in 18.3 overs (Pandya 73*, Kohli 51; Axar 2/19)