IPL 2024: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Delhi Capitals, 62nd Match - Who Said What?

Cricket madness is in full swing as the mega cricket extravaganza in the form of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024 gets more intense as the race for the playoffs round gets stiffer. In match 62 of the tournament, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), played host to Delhi Capitals (DC), at the renowned M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

After winning the toss, visitors Delhi decided to bat first in the hope of enjoying the runfest slug which is often the case in RCB's backyard. However, in a twist in the tale right from the beginning, regular skipper Rishabh Pant had to sit out due to suspension in the context of slow over rate. This meant that Axar Patel donned the captaincy mantle for the exciting fixture.

Axar Patel's decision favoured DC, Ishant Sharma won battle of West Delhi boys 

Patel's decision seemed to have gone his way initially as the battle of West Delhi boys was won by the veteran pacer Ishant Sharma while having a last laugh at Virat Kohli who played a quick (27 off 13) cameo. Even RCB skipper Faf du Plessis got out cheaply which meant that the hosts were under the pump. However, the middle order chipped in vital contributions to steady back the ship.

Rajat Patidar continued his half-century streak in IPL 2024

The onus was on the talented Indian batter Rajat Patidar and he duly obliged with another fifty (52 off32) in the IPL 2024 to get RCB out of the precarious situation yet again. Hence he also needed support from the other end which was ably provided by the English batter, Will Jacks, who also played (41 off 29) a good hand. The duo stitched a crucial 88-run stand to bring Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the game.

Cameron Green's late flourish led RCB to respectable total

Thereafter, Cameron Green arrived and after an early vigil started playing his blazing shots. Eventually, he took Kuldeep Yadav to the cleaners and provided a vital flourish in the fag end of the innings. Consequently, allrounder Green's unbeaten (32 off 24) knock piloted RCB to 187/9.

Delhi Capitals suffered early jolts in run chase

In reply, visitors DC had a troublesome start as they lost the veteran Australian opener David Warner in the fourth ball of the innings. It was the young Swapnil Singh who made an early dent. Albeit, his fellow opener Jack Fraser McGurk was looking good and was going all guns blazing (21 off 8 balls) like he has done in the IPL 2024 so far. But things got derailed after Delhi Capitals lost his precious wicket via a runout. If that was not enough, by the end of the fourth over, as many batters were back in the hut.

Axar Patel's fighting fifty in vain, RCB pick their fifth consecutive win

The interim Delhi skipper Axar Patel (57 runs off 39 balls) arrived at the crease and dug in with a cautious approach. At first, he put up a vital 56-run stand with the West Indian batter Shai Hope to revive the run chase. But things started looking murkier after Hope departed as Tristan Stubbs fell prey to some terrible miscommunication with Axar Patel and Kumar Kushagra failed yet again.

However, the interim captain failed to take his team home but in the process, top-scored in the IPL 2024 match. For RCB Green bowled excellently to keep the opposition scoring rate under check along with chipping in with a wicket. As a result, Royal Challengers Bengaluru continued their winning mojo with a 47-run victory while Delhi Capitals got bowled out for 140 to suffer a huge setback in their quest for playoffs qualification.

Meanwhile, reflecting on how the game panned out and analysing the respective team's performance, here is what the RCB and DC captains had to say. Furthermore, the man of the moment also expressed his thoughts on delivering an impactful performance for RCB/DC in the IPL 2024 match.

Losing captain Axar Patel said:

"I think if we had taken the catches we put down, they would have been 20-30 short and we should have chased 150 easily. But if you lose four in the powerplay in a chase of 180 then you're only left playing catch-up in the game. 160-170 would have been par here because the ball wasn't coming on that easily when the fast bowlers were bowling and the ball was stopping a bit. If two main players are run-out and you lose four in the powerplay then like I said you're left playing catch up. And that's what happened today, we can say those were unlucky. Anything can happen from here [for playoffs] but haven't thought that far ahead."

Winning captain Faf du Plessis said:

“Brilliant, we put some good performances and really pleased. 1st half of the season, things didn't quite come together and from that batting perspective and bowling perspective we have been able to put it together now . Sometimes people talk about match-ups and all, but as a left hander with the ball spinning in, you hope that works out sometimes and he's (Swapnil) done brillantly for us. Lot of work has gone behind the scenes, and we are getting it right and I feel there is a lore more variety in our bowling now and Yash and Lockie have been exceptional the last few games. We wanna play a style of cricket, to be bold and put some performances together and keep going."

POTM Cameron Green said: