Bengaluru: Local lad Vijaykumar Vyshak claimed three wickets on debut to complement Virat Kohli's imperious fifty as Royal Challengers Bangalore returned to winning ways with a dominant 23-run victory over Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League here on Saturday.
Kohli (50 off 34 balls) slammed his third fifty in four innings -- with the help of six boundaries and a six -- before left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav (4-1-23-2) led Delhi Capitals' charge in the middle overs to restrict RCB to 174/6 after David Warner opted to bowl.
The bottom-placed Delhi side, who came into the match after four losses on the trot, then made a mockery of the 175-run chase as they were restricted to 151/9 in the stipulated 20 overs. Delhi lost four wickets in the powerplay, including that of skipper Warner (19 off 13 balls), and they were 2 runs for 3 wickets at one stage.
Yet to open their account after five matches, time is running out for the Ricky Ponting-coached side. They now have the difficult task of winning eight out of their remaining nine matches to secure a play-off berth. RCB, on the other hand, got their campaign back on track after back-to-back losses as they have four points from as many matches.
Vyshak, who was handed his debut in place of Karn Sharma, got his maiden wicket in the form of Warner with a slower delivery, en route to his memorable haul of 3/20. The 26-year-old varied his pace and mixed his length well to trouble the batters as he went on to take two more wickets -- that of Axar Patel and Lalit Yadav -- as DC were reduced to 110/8 inside 16 overs.
After Warner (19 off 13 balls) got out cheaply, Manish Pandey waged a lone battle with a 37-ball 50, his 22nd fifty of the tournament. But the wily Sri Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva trapped Pandey, following a smart review, and it was all but over for DC.
Continuing his horror run, Shaw (0) got out for his fifth single-digit score from eight IPL innings when he became victim of a terrific run-out by Impact Player sub Anuj Rawat. Prithvi was always slow with his running, and he showed a clear lack of intent opening with Warner. Shaw started off the blocks tentatively and Rawat was just pin-point with his throw from extra-cover. Shaw now has 34 runs, including two ducks, from five innings in this IPL.
Earlier, DC bowlers did well to restrict RCB to 174 for 6. RCB were 110 for 2 in 12 overs but they managed to add just 64 runs for the loss of four wicets in the last eight overs. RCB were going all guns blazing with Kohli and Glenn Maxwell (24 off 14 balls) who was in a six-hitting spree.
But the DC spin trio of Kuldeep, Axar Patel (3-0-25-1) and Lalit Yadav (4-0-29-1) seized the momentum. Mitchell Marsh (2/18 from two overs), who rejoined the team after his wedding, also made a significant contribution with wickets of RCB captain Faf Du Plessis and Mahipal Lomror.
The famed Kohli-du Plessis duo got going without any fuss, scoring 33 runs in four overs. Kohli hammered Anrich Nortje for a fine boundary, while the South African upped the ante with a couple of fours. Du Plessis stepped out to Axar for the first six of the match after spin was introduced in the fourth over.
With Kohli in the box seat, RCB looked in a comfort zone at 89/1 at the halfway mark. But then, RCB found themselves in the backfoot and were reduced to 132/6 after Kuldeep grabbed the wickets of Maxwell and Dinesh Karthik (0) off successive deliveries. The double-wicket maiden over was preceded by Axar's dismissal of Harshal Patel as DC secured a team hat-trick to turn it around in the 15th over.
Harshal's dismissal was a freak one. Wicketkeeper Abhishek Porel appealed for an LBW and the review showed a faint spike off the bat as Harshal ended up being dismissed caught-behind. It was Lalit who dismissed Kohli with a big full toss. The star Indian batter perished, failing to clear the midwicket boundary.
Maxwell entered the stage with an aggressive intent and launched Yadav for a couple of sixes in the same over to get it going straightway. Maxwell was in no mood to relent and the scoring rate almost touched the 10-run an over when Warner took a fine backward running catch to dismiss his Australian teammate. In the next ball, Karthik got out for a golden duck and it was DC up and running out of nowhere. (PTI)
Brief Scores:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 174 for 6 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 50; Mitchell Marsh 2/18, Kuldeep Yadav 2/23).
Delhi Capitals: 151 for 9 in 20 overs (Manish Pandey 50; Vijaykumar Vyshak 3/20).
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Kuldeep-inspired DC spin attack restricts RCB to 174-6
Bengaluru: Kuldeep Yadav led the charge in the middle overs as Delhi Capitals spinners restricted Royal Challengers Bangalore to 174 for six in their Indian Premier League match here on Saturday. In pursuit of their first win of the tournament, bottom-placed DC found the going tough after inserting RCB in.
RCB were going all guns blazing as Virat Kohli (50 off 34 balls) slammed his third fifty of the tournament and Glenn Maxwell (24 off 14 balls; 3x6) was in a six-hitting spree. But the DC spin trio of Kuldeep (4-1-23-2), Axar Patel (3-0-25-1) and Lalit Yadav (4-0-29-1) seized the momentum in the middle overs.
Mitchell Marsh (2/18 from two overs), who rejoined the team after his wedding, also made a significant contribution with wickets of RCB captain Faf Du Plessis and Mahipal Lomror. The famed Kohli-du Plessis duo got going without any fuss, scoring 33 runs in four overs.
Kohli hammered Anrich Nortje with a fine boundary, while the South African upped the ante with a couple of fours. Du Plessis stepped out to Axar for the first six of the match after spin was introduced in the fourth over. With Kohli in the box seat, RCB looked in a comfort zone at 89/1 at the halfway mark.
But then, RCB found themselves in the backfoot and were reduced to 132/6 after Kuldeep grabbed the wickets of Maxwell and Dinesh Karthik (0) off successive deliveries. The double-wicket maiden over was preceded by Axar Patel's dismissal of Harshal Patel as DC secured a team hat-trick to turn it around in the 15th over.
Patel's dismissal was a freak one as wicketkeeper Abhishek Porel appealed for an LBW and the review showed a faint spike as the batter ended up being dismissed caught-behind. It was Lalit Yadav who dismissed Kohli with a big full toss as the star Indian batter perished, failing to clear the midwicket boundary.
Maxwell entered the stage with an aggressive intent and launched Yadav for a couple of sixes in the same over to get it going straightway. Maxwell was in no mood to relent and the scoring rate almost touched the 10-run an over when Warner took a fine backward running catch to dismiss his Australian teammate. In the next ball, Karthik got out to a golden duck and it was DC up and running out of nowhere. (PTI)
Brief Scores:
Delhi Capitals: 174 for 6 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 50; Mitchell Marsh 2/18, Kuldeep Yadav 2/23).
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- Faf du Plessis (22) was brilliantly caught by Aman Hakim Khan off Mitchell Marsh. Virat Kohli looks in fine touch at the moment and Lomror is at the crease to accompany him.
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Bengaluru: Delhi Capitals (DC) on Saturday won the toss and elected to field against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) here at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Here's what the captains had to say:
Faf du Plessis: Would have done the same. Hopefully it will turn in the second innings. This stays a good wicket generally. Will be important for me and Virat to assess the conditions early. It's difficult to defend in death overs. We have been good at our home ground as a batting unit. You got to pick your best batters and bowlers. Hasaranga comes in for Willey.
David Warner: We are going to bowl first. The ground looks incredible, credit to the staff here. It's about getting one win, the momentum follows from there. We don't want to lose wickets in the powerplay. We have change. Marsh comes in for Powell.
Teams:
Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): David Warner(c), Mitchell Marsh, Yash Dhull, Manish Pandey, Axar Patel, Aman Hakim Khan, Lalit Yadav, Abishek Porel(w), Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Mustafizur Rahman
Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik(w), Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Wayne Parnell, Mohammed Siraj, Vijaykumar Vyshak
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PREVIEW:
Eager for a comeback, Delhi Capitals (DC) needs a concerted and collective effort to get their hopes up as repeated losses with bowling and batting both misfiring have placed their IPL dream in jeopardy. Come the IPL match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), a clinical performance would be required against the batting-heavy team that RCB is boasting the likes of Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell.
DC have not got the start into the tournament as they would have liked to and have endured four back-to-back losses resulting in no points gain so far for them. It almost seems that nothing is clicking for them at the moment except for David Warner trying to hold the innings together and Axar Patel with his powerful cameos. The others, meanwhile, have simply not contributed enough to help the team's cause.
Despite Warner being slotted as the second-highest run-getter, his strike-rate of 114.83 has been a concern to them that has been losing wickets in bulk, which further has not allowed the captain to score freely. Prithvi Shaw hasn't been able to fire as his technical deficiencies against pace have laid bare once again -- an issue that will require time to be mended. Sarfaraz Khan's replacement, Manish Pandey too does not have any special performance to show for himself while debutant in the last match, Yash Dhull failed to provide any ray of home for the depleted DC side against MI.
The scarcity of talent in the Indian bench strength leaves them with Ripal Patel to rely on. The team would look to introduce power-hitter Phil Salt in place of Rovman Powel as he can keep the run-rate running while Warner can hold the other end. Delhi's pacers have been taken to the cleaners although Anrich Nortje and Mustafizur Rahman did well against MI albeit in a losing cause. But more will be expected of them at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, which is a belter of a track.
Spinners Axar and Kuldeep Yadav are also yet to churn out match-winning performances. RCB, on the other hand, will look to get back to winning ways. After making a winning start, RCB lost their way, falling to back-to-back defeats. The likes of Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis have contributed with the bat and would be eyeing another good show come Saturday. Glenn Maxwell being back amongst runs is also a good sign for the hosts.
Mohammed Siraj has been exceptional with the new ball but death bowling woes continue to plague RCB as their bowlers have leaked runs at an alarmingly high rate. Death overs specialist Harshal Patel has looked a jaded version of himself and RCB would hope others step up. Star spinner Wanindu Hasaranga has linked up with the squad and is expected to walk right into the playing XI, strengthening the bowling department.
