During the 19th match of the 11th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Delhi Daredevils (DD) at Bengaluru, Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Delhi Daredevils by 6 wickets in a convincing chase.
After Virat Kohli put Delhi Daredevils in to bat first, the visitors scored 174-5 in their allotted quota of 20 overs. The home team did not get off to the best of starts in the chase, losing both its openers in the powerplay. Having said that, it was AB de Villiers’ masterclass which saw RCB chasing down the total with two overs to go.
Now, we will look at the hits and flops players in this match.
Hits
Umesh Yadav (RCB) – Opening the bowling with Chris Woakes, Umesh Yadav continued to rule this season of the IPL with the new ball in hand. He drew first blood by dismissing Gautam Gambhir (3) in his second over, the third of the innings. Not giving many runs in the match, his final bowling figures read 4-0-27-1.
Rishabh Pant (DD) – Rishabh Pant came in to bat at a time when the Daredevils were reeling at 23-2 in the last over of the powerplay. He ended up scoring his fourth IPL half-century, 85 (48), with the help of six fours and seven sixes. He played an instrumental role behind Delhi scoring 174-5 in 20 overs. What enticed people following the match was the maturity with which he played today.
AB de Villiers (RCB) – AB de Villiers’ 24th IPL half-century saw Royal Challengers’ Bangalore sealing the chase without much discomfort. At his utmost best, the 34-year old batsman found his touch form the word go. He was severe on the opposition bowlers and looked to be a man on a mission. He ended up scoring 90* (39) with the help of 10 fours and five sixes.
Flops
Jason Roy (DD) – Opening the batting alongside Gambhir, Jason Roy scored a highly ordinary 5 (16). His unsuccessful wrestle against Yuzvendra Chahal was evident from the way he was playing. His innings, to some extent, wasted the powerplay for the Daredevils.
Gautam Gambhir (DD) – It was one of those days for the captain of Delhi Daredevils where he struggled to find his touch in the middle. Scoring 3 (10) in a lacklustre innings, Gambhir would definitely want to contribute in a better way in the next match.
Chris Morris (DD) – Chris Morris failed to make an impact with the ball in his hand. In an effort to defend 175 runs against the likes of Kohli and de Villiers, Delhi Daredevils requried some of Morris’ calibre to step-up and pick wickets at regular intervals. However, that was not the case as Morris registered bowling figures of 4-0-43-0.
