IPL 2023: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Capitals Match 20 - Talking Points and Who Said What?

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) emerged victorious in their clash against Delhi Capitals (DC) by 23 runs in match 20 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. The two franchises locked horns at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday’s (April 15) first double-header clash.

Ace batter Virat Kohli slammed yet another fifty in the league to keep RCB steady. Bangalore eventually managed to post a competitive total of 174 runs despite fall of wickets at regular intervals. Meanwhile, in reply, Delhi’s batting unit failed to hit the ground running as they lost wickets in quick succession to keep reeling nehind in the chase. RCB asserted their dominance and won their second game of the season by 23 runs against Delhi.

Here are the Talking Points of the RCB vs DC clash:

Virat Kohli scores fine half-century

Following the dismissal of Faf du Plessis, Kohli slowed down a bit briefly. However, the batter got the boundaries at regular intervals to play a crucial knock and notched up an impressive half-century off 33 balls. His innings included six fours and one maximum before he was dismissed by Lalit Yadav on the very next ball.

Vijaykumar Vyshak’s dazzles as RCB bowling unit strike in tandem

In response to RCB’s competitive total, DC required couple of solid performances to keep them in the hunt during the chase. However, what followed was complete domination from the RCB bowling unit as they operated in tandem to strike the blows.

In under 10 overs, DC had lost nearly half their side in the massive collapse. The 26-year-old Bengaluru-born pacer Vijaykumar Vyshak stamped his authority on the batters as he returned a magnificent three-wicket haul on debut. 

Impressively, the rival side could only manage to get two boundaries off his four overs and score 20 runs. Mohammed Siraj too was instrumental as he picked two wickets whereas Wayne Parnell, Harshal Patel, and Wanindu Hasaranga got one wicket apiece to help secure the win.

Manish Pandey’s fifty goes in vain

Just when the wickets started to fall like a pack of cards, Manish Pandey decided to put up his best effort in the chase. Playing at his home ground, the batter started off delicately and kept rotating the strike before shifting gears to score a fifty off 37 balls. Despite this, he eventually succumbed under pressure and was sent packing for 50 off 38 with five boundaries and one maximum to his name.

Winning Skipper, Faf du Plessis said:

We needed that to get the confidence back in the group. Especially the bowling group. Defending a total is not always easy at the Chinnaswamy, so very proud of them. It's the first day game of the season. Also the new rule now - you always feel you need more. 175 in a day game here is a good score. But with the new rule there's some uncertainty. Generally the first six overs is more important. The way we bowled was just unbelievable. Huge credit to our seamers in the first six.

Losing Skipper, David Warner said:

"I said at the toss that we had to do both disciplines very well and unfortunately we did it again tonight where we lost too many early wickets. We didn't build partnerships chasing that total. It should have been an easy task but unfortunately we didn't come up trumps. We lose three wickets in the Powerplay and runouts are non-negotiable in this format and that sometimes can cost you the game. Siraj had his tail up and bowled extremely well. You can't take credit away from the way they came out and started as well. The positives were great with the bowling and fielding were exceptional. Our attitude and energy were amazing. But yet again it was just our batting. We're going to have to try to work out how we're going to take on the Powerplay and not lose early wickets, especially in the first two or three overs. That's going to hurt you in a lot of games. We have to have a hard look at ourselves and come back strong with five days off. Things aren't working at the moment but teams have come back from 0-5 so hopefully we can be that second team."

Player of the Match, Virat Kohli said:

It was a tricky one. When it went up in the air, I made sure there was no one close to me. I made sure I grabbed it solidly. I was quite disappointed that I got out to a full toss. I've been playing really well. One thing I mentioned to the guys in the change room that 175 was enough on this pitch. It slowed down considerably. We did well to get to that score and had the belief it was enough. When I've played my best cricket, those are the balls I've put away consistently. When I put away their best balls, it puts pressure on the bowlers. We kind of let it slip away last two games. That was a different mentality and phase altogether (T20 World Cup 2016 semis). I back myself to hit good shots. When they come off they look good.