Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Match 46 Match Summary

And just like that, another IPL weekend fades into the rearview as the tournament charges headlong into a fresh week of battles. Earlier in the day, Mumbai Indians executed a clinical win at home, over Lucknow Super Giants, which marked their fifth win on the trot and the sixth overall. In the night game, RCB avenged their loss at home and maintained their unblemished record on the road. Now then, the spotlight falls on a tasty clash between the neighbours, as the desperate Rajasthan Royals throw open the gates of a pulsating Sawai Mansingh Stadium to welcome the high-flying Gujarat Titans. For Rajasthan, it's now win-or-bust territory after squandering golden opportunities, with their playoff dreams hanging by a thread as they chase for momentum. GT, meanwhile, sit pretty comfortably in the top four, with 12 points already banked, eyeing that coveted top-two finish. This neighbourhood showdown ignites on 28th April, Monday, and the first ball is scheduled to be bowled at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT). But do make sure to tune in a bit earlier for the pre-match analysis and build up. Take care, cheers.

The IPL points table undergoes a seismic shift as RCB storm to the pinnacle with 14 points following this clinical performance, marking them as the season's first team to hit this coveted benchmark. Despite stumbling here, DC maintain their foothold in the top four, though their path forward grows increasingly challenging. Royal Challengers Bengaluru will now return home to face Chennai Super Kings in what promises to be a pulsating southern derby on 3rd May, Saturday, at 7.30 pm IST (2 PM GMT), while Delhi Capitals hunker down on home turf to battle the formidable Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday, April 29th at 7.30 pm IST (2 PM GMT). As the tournament hits the top gear, the fight for the top four spots will heat up more moving forward.

Krunal Pandya of RCB is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his outstanding all-round brilliance in the match. He collects the award and is up for a quick chat. Begins by saying it is always good to get a positive result and says it feels satisfying to see the hard work paying off. Says his role is quite clear, to make sure they stitch a strong partnership. Adds that they have such great power hitters in David, Jitesh and Shepherd that they can take down any bowling attack. Feels glad to fulfil his role as an all-rounder. Says when Virat Kohli is at the other end, batting becomes very easy. Admits that the first 20 balls were a bit scratchy for him, but adds that Virat kept backing him. On his bowling, he says he has always been an economical bowler and always tries to stay one step ahead and has worked very hard on his bowling.

The captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Rajat Patidar, says it was a complete team performance and lauds the bowlers for setting it up nicely. Also mentions that they do not look at the venues but just focus on playing good cricket. On opting to chase, he says they get enough time to assess the conditions and plan accordingly. States that the total was gettable and appreciates the bowlers for the way they executed. Concludes that it is a great opportunity for him to lead a franchise like RCB and he is learning a lot on the way.

It is time for the Presentation Ceremony...

Virat Kohli is up for an interview with the broadcasters. He wears the Orange Cap, overtaking Suryakumar Yadav of Mumbai Indians. He says that it was a top win, especially with the kind of surface it was. Adds that whenever the chase is on, he keeps checking in with the dugout, whether they're on course or not. Adds that Krunal was outstanding and made the impact just at the right time. On his batting in run chases, he stresses that he tries to make sure his singles and doubles don't stop, so that the game doesn't get stagnant. Points that people are forgetting the importance of partnership and professionalism in T20 cricket. Adds that he and Krunal communicated beautifully, as Krunal told him to stay till deep while he took his own chances. Further adds that they have a good firepower at the end in Tim David and Jitesh as well. Also adds that now they have the likes of Romario Shepherd and these guys have the ability to hit five sixes in ten balls if needed. Also feels that this kind of firepower helps you immensely in the backend. Mentions that Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled superbly and are world-class bowlers for a reason. Appreciates Krunal Pandya and says he was outstanding as an all rounder and also lauds Suyash Sharma, calling him their dark horse. Says even if their spinners don't take wickets, they keep attacking in the middle overs.

The captain of Delhi Capitals, Axar Patel, says they were short by 10-15 runs, but with dew coming in, batting in the second innings became slightly easier. Adds that they will have to work on the fielding and make sure the tough chances are grabbed as well. Mentions that the wicket was two-paced and they couldn't have done too many things differently, but had one batter played longer, they would have gotten a better total on the board. On KL coming up the order, he mentions that KL could bat well in those middle overs, and the left-hand, right-hand combination was also a factor to consider.

Earlier in the game, Royal Challengers Bengaluru invited Delhi Capitals to bat first. On a two-paced surface, DC too, didn't have a promising start as du Plessis struggled to lift up the pace in the field restrictions. While KL Rahul did play a handy knock of 41, his departure proved a bit too crucial and just came at the right time for RCB. However, the late fireworks from Tristan Stubbs helped DC to breach past the 160-run mark, which eventually didn't prove to be sufficient for the home side. For RCB, Bhuvneshwar Kumar showed his masterclass with the ball, snagging a sensational 3-wicket haul, while Josh Hazlewood also picked up a couple of wickets.

Though Kohli departed for 51 in the latter stages, his anchor role had already steered RCB to the brink of victory. It then only took 5 deliveries for Tim David to hold the game from the scruff of its neck and get the team over the line. Delhi Capitals let the momentum slip through in the middle overs, and to be fair, once Krunal initiated the attack, their lines and lengths sort of got all over the place. With only the two spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel being economical, others were made to travel all over the park.

Just when RCB's innings appeared to be flatlining, Krunal ignited the fightback with calculated aggression, targeting specific bowlers to shift the momentum. Kohli, ever the master tactician, played the perfect supporting act, rotating strike intelligently while maintaining control of the chase. Both batters reached their well-crafted fifties. Kohli's sixth fifty of the season underlined his phenomenal consistency. The two, Virat Kohli and Krunal Pandya then went on to script a 100-run stand for the fourth wicket. From the depths of 26/3, Kohli and Krunal engineered a magnificent recovery as their 119-run partnership swung the match decisively in RCB's favor.

The sluggish pitch made power-hitting a risky proposition, with DC's spinners expertly exploiting the conditions to strangle the scoring. Amid the early wreckage, Virat Kohli stood tall, adapting brilliantly to play the anchor role. He found solid support from Krunal Pandya, though the pair initially struggled to break DC's grip on the game.

RCB’s innings got off to a nightmare start, crumbling to 35/3 in the Powerplay as DC’s bowlers struck early blows. Jacob Bethell’s brief aggression offered a good start, but his dismissal, along with the wickets of Padikkal and Patidar in quick succession, plunged RCB into deeper trouble. Axar Patel’s clever early spell tightened the screws, while Karun Nair’s electric fielding, featuring a stunning catch and a razor-sharp run-out, left RCB gasping for momentum in the early stages.

Cricket at its literal best, folks! This has been a run chase and a half from Royal Challengers Bengaluru. With this win, they have scripted history here in Delhi to become the first ever team in the history of IPL to win six away games on the trot. They not only take two points, but also lift themselves up to the top of the points table, with the first team to reach 14 points this season.

FOUR! 5 balls is all it took Tim David to wrap the game. Royal Challengers Bengaluru win by 6 wickets and 9 balls to spare. Mukesh Kumar goes very full and on middle and leg, Tim clears his front leg and flicks it behind square on the leg side for a boundary to get the win.

FOUR! Punished on the freebie! Full and on off, Tim David opens the bat face, uses his wrist and swats it through covers for a boundary. Just two more runs needed now.

NO BALL AND FOUR! Mukesh Kumar is bowling way too many full tosses and is being taken apart. Seems unintentional this time as he serves this around the waist height, on middle, Tim David swipes it across, off the upper half of the bat and manages to get it over backward square leg for a boundary. RCB send it upstairs for a No Ball check and the Ball Tracker shows the ball to be fractionally above the waist height of Tim David! Another excellent use of a review from RCB and a Free Hit will follow.

A review taken by Tim David for a waist height No Ball. Looks to be dipping on the batter, but the Ball Tracking shows it to be just marginally above the waist level. NO BALL called.

SIX! Tim David doing Tim David things at the death! What a beast! A low full toss, on off, Tim tonks it straight back over the bowler's head for a six. Royal Challengers Bengaluru need 11 more runs off 11 balls.

Back of a length, on middle, Tim David miscues his pull through mid-wicket for a single and gets off the mark.

Tim David is in at number 6.

OUT! CAUGHT! A bit too late, but a big wicket nonetheless for Dushmantha Chameera and Delhi Capitals! Can this be the opening they needed to make a miraculous comeback? They have done it in the past and will surely be on the hunt for a few more wickets. Chameers takes pace off and bowls it full and outside off, Virat Kohli looks to power it over the off side and is slightly deceived by the lack of pace as well. Hits it decently well off the lower half of the bat and to deep cover. Mitchell Starc stands just inches ahead of the ropes and takes a brilliant catch to his left.

Nails the yorker at the toes again, Krunal Pandya does equally well to jam it to deep square leg for a single.

Full again and just outside off, Virat Kohli cuts it to deep point for a run.

Fuller in length, on off, Krunal Pandya drives it through covers for one.

FOUR! Just short! Full and on off, Krunal Pandya swats it off the lower half of the bat and does so a bit uppishly to the left of the fielder at mid off. Tristan Stubbs knows the ball was dipping ahead, but had to go for a try, and he does. The ball drops in front and evades him to race behind for a boudnary.

Nails the wide yorker and Krunal Pandya fails to make any connection. He looks to the umpire in the hope for it to be called a wide, but it isn't. He decides to challenge it. The replay shows the batter to be in his usual stance and no part of the ball to be inside the tramline outside off. The on-field call is overturned to a WIDE. A good review this from Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Dushmantha Chameera is back on. He replaces Mitchell Starc and is 2-0-15-0 so far with figures.

Full, on middle, Pandya whips it to long on for one. 12 runs come off this over and RCB now just need 26 runs off 18 balls.

FOUR! Krunal Pandya is in a hurry to get things done! A better executed yorker, on off, but an even better shot from the batter. Krunal Pandya opens the bat face and squeezes it past point for another boundary.

FOUR! Top shot! Almost a perfect yorker, on middle and leg, Krunal Pandya gets his feet out of the way and flicks it in front of square on the leg side for a boundary.