In a thrilling IPL encounter at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground on Saturday, Delhi Capitals secured a convincing seven-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore. The win, which was only Delhi’s fifth this season, saw them comfortably chase down RCB’s total of 181 with seven wickets in hand and 20 balls to spare.
Phil Salt’s blistering knock of 87 off just 45 balls, including eight fours and six sixes, set up the victory for Delhi Capitals. The England wicketkeeper’s innings overshadowed the efforts of Virat Kohli (55 off 46 balls) and Mahipal Lomror (54 not out off 29 balls) for RCB. Kohli, despite scoring his sixth fifty of the season, will be disappointed with his strike rate of 119.56.
Delhi Capitals began their run chase aggressively, scoring 70/1 at the end of the powerplay. The opening partnership between David Warner and Phil Salt was worth 60 runs, with the duo displaying the kind of ruthlessness that has been missing from their batting this season. Salt was particularly impressive, using aggressive strokeplay to rattle RCB’s in-form pacer Mohammed Siraj.
After Warner lost his wicket in the sixth over, Salt and Mitchell Marsh continued to dominate with a 59-run stand in 32 deliveries. Delhi reached 126/2 in 12 overs, well on course for victory. The result was virtually sealed when Salt and Rilee Rossouw smashed medium-pacer Harshal Patel for 24 runs in an over that included three sixes.
Earlier, RCB had scored 181/4 in their 20 overs, thanks to an 82-run opening partnership between Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli. The partnership was pivotal in setting a decent target for Delhi Capitals, as RCB had only scored 23 runs in the first four overs. However, du Plessis injected life into the innings with his aggressive strokeplay, scoring three fours in the fifth over and hitting Khaleel Ahmed for a four and a six off consecutive balls.
Delhi Capitals found some respite when Mitchell Marsh delivered the wickets of du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell off successive deliveries in the 11th over. Marsh, who was back in the team after missing the previous game due to illness, managed to get du Plessis caught at deep cover off a slower ball before finding the outside edge of Maxwell.
Despite Kohli’s fifty, RCB’s middle-order failed to deliver once again, and Lomror’s onslaught proved insufficient in the end.
Delhi Capitals’ impressive performance in both batting and bowling helped them secure a well-deserved victory over RCB. The win will provide a much-needed boost for Delhi Capitals as they aim to climb the IPL standings.