Counter-attacking knocks from Rajat Patidar (52 off 32) and Will Jacks (41 off 29) coupled with an aggressive bowling and fielding performance, powered Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a 47-run win over Delhi Capitals (DC) in Match 62 of the TATA IPL 2024 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Patidar revitalised RCB after the loss of Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli inside the Powerplay and added 88 runs off 53 balls with Will Jacks to help RCB post 187/9. A collective bowling and a brilliant fielding effort then saw the home side bowl DC out for 140 and win by 47 runs.
Defending 188, RCB got off to a brilliant start, picking up four wickets inside the first four overs. Impact Player Swapnil Singh had David Warner caught at long on in the first over. Jake Fraser-McGurk, who had gotten off the mark with a six off his first ball, then took the attack to Mohd Siraj, hitting a six and a couple of fours. But DC lost two in the next over as Yash Dayal bounced out Abishek Porel off his first ball and then affected a run out at the non-striker’s end to get the big wicket of Fraser-McGurk. Shai Hope hit one powerfully straight back and Dayal got a hand to it as it ricocheted onto the stumps. Fraser-McGurk was well out of his crease.
Siraj then trapped Kumar Kushagra LBW in the next over to reduce the visitors to 30/4. Shai Hope and Axar Patel began the resurrection process. Hope hit some exquisite fours while Axar took the powerful route as the pair added 56 off 36 balls before Ferguson broke the partnership, having Hope brilliantly caught at deep mid-wicket off a slower full toss. One brought two as Green’s brilliant fielding off his own bowling had Tristan Stubbs run out off a direct hit.
Axar Patel, though, kept battling hard and brought up his fifty in style, off 30 balls, with a six off Jacks.
Wickets kept falling at the other end as Rasikh Salam holed out to long on off Green. DC then suffered a huge blow in the next over as Dayal dismissed Axar (57 off 39), who miscued one to backward point to reduce DC to 128/8. It was only a matter of time from then on as RCB bowled DC out for 140 to win the game by 47 runs. Yash Dayal cleaned up Kuldeep Yadav to pick up the last wicket and finish with impressive figures of 3/20.
Earlier, Axar Patel, who was captaining Delhi Capitals in the absence of the suspended Rishabh Pant, won the toss and elected to field.
RCB got off to a breezy start but lost two crucial wickets inside the Powerplay. Virat Kohli started off with a couple of delightful sixes, one off Ishant Sharma and one off Khaleel Ahmed, but Axar brought Mukesh Kumar into the attack in the third over and he struck off his second ball, having Faf du Plessis caught at third man off an outside edge. The Ishant vs Kohli battle turned into a fascinating one as Kohli edged one wide of the keeper for a four and then hit a no-look 90m six. Ishant beat him the next ball before having him caught behind.
Rajat Patidar took the attacking approach straightaway, hitting three fours off Mukesh in the fifth over before going on a six-hitting spree along with Will Jacks, smashing five sixes in the next four overs.
DC had the chance to dismiss the rampaging batters in the same over, but Axar dropped a tough catch of Jacks, off Kuldeep and then Shai Hope dropped Patidar three balls later. Patidar brought up his fifty off 29 balls. DC finally held on to a catch as captain Axar Patel pulled off an excellent catch at extra cover to dismiss Patidar (52 off 32) off Rasikh Salam.
DC bounced back hard and pulled things back as Kuldeep had Jacks (41 off 29) caught by Axar again at extra cover in the 15th over.
Cameron Green and Mahipal Lomror finally pressed the accelerator button in the 17th over, hammering three sixes off Kuldeep, but DC made a comeback, picking up three wickets in the next two overs. Khaleel dismissed Lomror and Dinesh Karthik in the 18th over while Salam sent back Impact Player Swapnil Singh, who had replaced Patidar in the 19th. Mukesh finished off brilliantly, giving away just eight runs off the last over as DC effected two run outs in the over. RCB finished with 187/9 from their 20 overs.
