Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) kept their playoff hope alive after beating Delhi Capitals (DC) by 47 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Despite securing five consecutive wins late in the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) find themselves in a precarious position regarding their playoff chances. Even with a potential six-win streak, their path to securing a playoff spot remains uncertain, with four teams still vying for a finish with 16 or more points.
RCB’s relatively healthy net run rate offers them a glimmer of hope. If specific circumstances align — Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) loses both matches against Gujarat Titans (GT) and Punjab Kings (PBKS), while Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) defeats Delhi Capitals (DC) but loses to Mumbai Indians (MI) — RCB could clinch the fourth spot by surpassing SRH on net run rate. This would also help them maintain a lead over DC and LSG. (WATCH: Rare Scene As Virat Kohli Smiles After Getting Out Against Ishant Sharma During RCB Vs DC Match)
Furthermore, if RCB manages to secure a significant victory against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and other teams suffer heavy defeats in their remaining games, RCB could even challenge CSK for the third spot.
Jake Fraser-McGurk (21 runs from 8 balls, 2 fours and 2 sixes) and Axar Patel (57 runs from 39 balls, 5 fours and 3 sixes) were the only standout batters for the Delhi-based franchise but could not help their side clinch a win in the evening game on Sunday.
Apart from Fraser-McGurk and stand-in skipper Axar, Shai Hope (29 runs from 23 balls, 4 fours) helped DC to chase down the 188-run target. The fall of quick wickets stopped the Capitals from chasing the target down.
Yash Dayal led the RCB bowling attack after he picked up 3 wickets and gave 20 runs in his 4-over spell. Lockie Ferguson also bagged two wickets and gave 23 runs in his four-over spell. While, Swapnil Singh, Mohammed Siraj, and Cameron Green took one wicket each in their respective spells.
Yash picked up the winning after he removed Kuldeep Yadav in the first ball of the last over. His wicket ended Delhi’s run at 140. Recapping the first inning, after winning the toss, the Capitals decided to bowl first and their decision did go in their favour as they restricted RCB to an average score.
Virat Kohli (27 runs from 13 balls, 1 four and 3 sixes) and Faf du Plessis (6 runs from 7 balls, 1 four) opened for the RCB, however, they failed to display an eye-catching performance. The RCB openers could only play a partnership of 23 runs and it was broken in the third over after Mukesh Kumar removed the RCB skipper Du Plessis.
Will Jacks (41 runs from 29 balls, 3 fours and 2 sixes) replaced the Bengaluru skipper. Jacks was stupendous on the crease, his knock helped RCB to get an upper hand on the game. The second wicket of the game came in the fourth over after Ishant Sharma removed the talisman batter.
Rajat Patidar (52 runs from 32 balls, 3 fours and 3 sixes) replaced Kohli and played a stellar knock. He played at a strike rate of 162.50. However, he was dismissed in the 13th over by youngster Rasikh Salam. Following Patidar’s dismissal, Will Jacks was dismissed in the 15th over of the match by Kuldeep Yadav.
After losing two set batters, Jacks and Patidar, RCB took time to settle into the game. But Cameron Green (32* runs from 24 balls, 1 four and 2 sixes) and Mahipal Lomror (13 runs from 8 balls, 1 six) took things in control.
The 18th over of the first inning came as a nightmare for the hosts as Lomror and Dinesh Karthik (0 runs from 2 balls) were removed from the crease by Khaleel Ahmed in the fourth and sixth ball of the over.
In the 19th over, Swapnil Singh (0 runs from 1 ball) was removed by Rasikh Salam. The death overs cost RCB from scoring further in the game as they lost wickets and failed to have set batters on the crease during that time.
Karn Sharma (6 runs from 4 balls, 1 four) was dismissed in the last over by Shai Hope and Mukesh Kumar. At the end of the inning, Green and Mohammed Siraj were on the crease as they took RCB to 187/9.
Khaleel Ahmed (2/31) and Rasikh Dar Salam (2/23) led the Delhi bowling attack as they picked up two wickets each in their respective spells. Delhi Capitals need to make 188 runs to win the match against RCB.
Brief score: Royal Challengers Bengaluru 187/9 (Rajat Patidar 52, Will Jacks 41, Cameron Green 32*; Rasikh Dar Salam 2/23) beat Delhi Capitals (Axar Patel 57, Shai Hope 29, Jake Fraser-McGurk 21; Yash Dayal 3/3.1).
