Virat Kohli (27 off 13 balls) perished even after being well set. The in-form Rajat Patidar (52 off 32 balls) fired once again with assist from Will Jacks (41 off 29 balls). The bowlers then ensured to step up as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) registered a comprehensive 47-run win over Delhi Capitals, after scoring a not-so-big total of 187/9 at the Chinnaswamy in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Moving up to fifth in the points table with five wins on the trot, RCB would certainly be confident of beating Chennai Super Kings in their final league-phase game at home on May 18.
In the absence of captain Rishabh Pant, the task in any case was going to be difficult for the Capitals. However, their bowlers kept chipping away with wickets, restricting RCB to less than 200 even when they were on course to get a bigger total, thanks to the 88-run partnership between Patidar and Jacks for the third wicket.
On that kind of a surface, the Capitals' hopes relied a lot on how their sensation of this season, Jake Fraser-McGurk, fared in the Powerplay. The young Australian began with a six off his first ball and was on 21 off just eight balls before an unlucky dismissal — a drive from Shai Hope ricocheting off Yash Dayal's fingers and hitting the stumps, with Fraser-McGurk a yard short at the non-striker's end — sent him back.
That slice of luck aside, RCB had also picked up the key wickets of David Warner, who fell to spinner Swapnil Singh in his comeback game after almost three weeks, and Abishek Porel. Wearing the keeper's gloves in Pant's absence, Porel played a rank poor shot to give left-arm quick Dayal the first of the latter's three wickets.
Stand-in skipper Axar Patel (57 off 39 balls) and Hope (29 off 23 balls) gave some momentum to the Capitals' run chase, reviving their hopes to an extent. But Hope, after dropping an easy catch earlier to let Jacks off when the latter was on 19, couldn't dispatch a full toss from Lockie Ferguson and departed.
Axar, who too was a culprit having dropped Patidar when the RCB No.4 was on 42, was left to fight a lone battle as the likes of Dayal (3/20), Ferguson (2/23), Cameron Green (1/19), and even Mohammed Siraj (1/33), were consistent with their lengths. All that the Capitals could manage was 140 in 19.1 overs.
Spin is RCB's weak area, but their quicks ensured they covered up for that.
Delhi Capitals' Ishant Sharma celebrates the wicket of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli during an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 T20 cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi PTI
Earlier, Patidar’s dismissal off pacer Rasikh Salam (2/23 in three overs), who was tidy right through his spell, helped the Axar-led Capitals to regain momentum after they won the toss and decided to bowl first.
Following Patidar’s departure, RCB got only 63 in their next 7.3 overs with the likes of Rasikh, Mukesh Kumar (1/23 in three overs) and Khaleel Ahmed (2/31) not giving much away in the death overs. Khaleel, whom Kohli had took on earlier, bounced back well in his last couple of overs with the important scalps of Mahipal Lomror and Dinesh Karthik in three balls in the 18th over of the game.
Fortunately for RCB, Green (32 not out off 24 balls) was there till the end, ensuring they crossed 180 at least, even though the Australian all-rounder had taken time to tee off. The disciplined Delhi bowling, especially from their quicks, had allowed Green only eight runs off the first 10 balls he faced.
All said and done, credit has to be given to Patidar for not shying away from his game and backing his stroke-making ability. With Faf du Plessis and Kohli sent back and the scorecard reading 36/2 in the fourth over, the Capitals were on top then. But given the form Patidar is in at present, that didn't affect him.
Whenever the ball was there in his arc, the Madhya Pradesh batsman took no half-measures and responded with clean hits on way to his fifth half-century of this IPL in seven matches.