Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) trumped Delhi Capitals (DC) in a close encounter on Tuesday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Put to bat first, RCB lost back to back wickets in the form of their skipper Virat Kohli (12) and opener Devdutt Padikkal (17). Coming into bat at number three, Rajat Patidar steadied the innings with the in-form Glenn Maxwell before the latter threw his wicket off a ball by Amit Mishra.
AB de Villiers then provided the much-needed momentum as he smashed an unbeaten 42-ball 75, which propelled RCB to a respectable total of 171/5 in their allotted 20 overs.
In response, Rishabh Pant & Co. also lost early wickets and could not build a sturdy partnership. While Pant played the anchor role, DC kept losing wickets at the other end. Marcus Stoinis (22) chipped in a few runs, but DC was unable to maintain the required run rate till Shemron Hetmyer played an explosive inning of 53 runs from 25 balls at a splendid strike rate of above 200.
With DC needing 14 runs off the last over, RCB’s bowler Mohammed Siraj did well to restrict them to 170/4. Thus, DC, despite the heroics of Pant and Hetmyer, lost the match by one run.
The two captains were seen sharing a few laughs post the match. Kohli was humorously talking to Pant, who was replying with the same delight. Avesh Khan was too spotted collaborating in those rib-tickling moments while Siraj joined them later.
Here’s the video:
A range of emotions after that last-ball thriller! ☺️ 👌#VIVOIPL | #DCvRCB | @DelhiCapitals | @RCBTweets pic.twitter.com/6wqKG5kbRw
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 27, 2021
Meanwhile, with this win, RCB are once again placed atop the IPL 2021 points-table. In comparison, DC are not too far, as they have occupied the number three spot.
