New Delhi: Wicket-keeper batsman Phil Salt’s stormy half-century helped Delhi Capitals keep their hopes of making it to the play-offs alive by defeating Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by seven wickets in a one-sided Indian Premier League match here on Saturday.
Chasing RCB’s target of 182, Delhi rode on Salt’s 45-ball 87, studded with six sixes and eight fours, besides his first-wicket stand of 60 with skipper David Warner (22), Mitchell Marsh (26) 59 for the second wicket and a 52-run partnership for the third wicket with Riley Roseau (35 not out in 22 balls, three sixes, one four) won by scoring 187 runs for three wickets with 20 balls to spare. With this win, Delhi also broke the streak of four consecutive losses against RCB. The team is ninth in the points table with eight points from 10 matches.
RCB’s team remains in fifth place with 10 points in 10 matches. RCB had earlier scored 181 for four with half-centuries from Virat Kohli (55 off 46 balls, five fours) and Mahipal Lomror (54 off 29 balls, six fours, three sixes) and a 55-run partnership for the third wicket between the two. scored runs
Kohli also added 82 runs for the first wicket with captain Faf Duplesey (45). Marsh was the most successful bowler for Delhi, taking two wickets for 21 runs. Mukesh Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed got one wicket each. Chasing the target, the opening pair of Warner and Salt gave Delhi a stormy start by adding 60 runs in 31 balls. Warner started with two fours in the first over off Mohammad Siraj before Salt hit a four and a six in Josh Hazlewood’s over. Warner welcomed Wanindu Hasaranga with sixes and fours.
Salt, targeting Siraj in the fifth over, hit two sixes and a four on his consecutive balls, but Warner caught Duplesey at mid-off by waving Hazlewood’s ball in the air. Marsh hit Hazlewood for a six and a four as soon as he arrived, making Delhi 70 for one in the powerplay. This is Delhi’s best performance in the current season while RCB’s worst performance. Salt completed his half-century off 28 balls with two fours over leg-spinner Karn Sharma and took the team’s score past 100 runs in the ninth over. Marsh hit a four on the second ball of Harshal Patel but was caught by Lomror on the next ball.
He hit three fours and a six in 17 balls. Riley Roseau hit two while Salt hit a six in the 13th over of Harshal’s innings. 24 runs were scored in this over. Delhi needed only 23 runs in the last six overs and the team achieved the target easily, losing the wicket of Salt. Salt was bowled by Karn. Earlier, RCB won the toss and elected to bat, after which Duplesey and Kohli got the team off to a good start. Both added 51 runs in the power play without losing a wicket. Kohli opened the account with a four on Khaleel and then made Akshar Patel and Ishant Sharma see the ball for the boundary. With this, Kohli also became the first batsman to complete seven thousand runs in IPL.
Duplessis then took the lead, welcoming Mukesh with three fours while hitting Khaleel for sixes and fours in successive balls. Both took the team’s score to 79 runs in 10 overs without losing wickets. Duplessy, however, was caught by Akshar at the boundary in an attempt to play a big shot off Marsh’s ball. He hit five fours and a six while facing 32 balls. Glenn Maxwell also caught wicketkeeper Salt on the next ball of Marsh. Lomror hit Kuldeep Yadav for a six as soon as he came and then in the next over of this left-arm spinner also hit fours and sixes in consecutive balls.
Kohli, meanwhile, took the team’s score past 100 runs in the 13th over with fours and two runs on Ishant. Kohli completed his half-century in 42 balls with a single off Marsh. However, after completing his half-century, he played Mukesh’s ball to Khaleel at short fine leg, which made RCB score 137 for three. Lomror hit Ishant for two fours while Dinesh Karthik brought Khaleel’s ball into the audience. Lomror completed his half-century in 26 balls with a four over Mukesh. Khaleel got Karthik (11) caught by Warner in the last over.
