IPL 10, Match 5, Royal Challengers Bangalore v Delhi Daredevils - 5 Tracking Points

The Royal Challengers Bangalore had suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the season opener recently. Now they were up against the Delhi Daredevils – a team that has been facing the similar crisis as that of the RCB camp. Both the teams were plagued by injuries and pull-outs. It came as big blow to them to see their big stars miss out.

While the Delhi camp had seen the Protea duo of JP Duminy and Quinton de Kock pull out of the tournament, the RCB camp had to take the field without the services of their star players AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli. Coming in to the game, it was RCB skipper Shane Watson who won the toss and opted to bat first. He made a plethora of changes to the line up with the most notable being Billy Stanlake coming in for Travis Head. RCB had the early shock as their star batsman Chris Gayle perished cheaplyy.

Watson got a good start but could not convert it to a big one. Had there not been a certain Kedar Jadhav firepower knock of 69, the RCB were crashing out of the game. Jadhav’s heroics helped them post 157/8 in their 20 overs. The run chase for Delhi Daredevils began on a shaky ground with the young guns faltering after getting starts.

Here are the 5 Tracking Points from the RCBvDD match:

1. RCB top order crashes yet again

The Royal Challengers tried a different opening combination today. They started off with Chris Gayle and Shane Watson opening the innings. The move was supposed to work but it did not. Gayle’s poor form continued as he perished for just 6 in the 4th over of the match. Mandeep Singh showed a lot of promise with 3 breathtaking boundaries. However, he then threw it away as Pat Cummins shattered his woodwork.

Watson, the skipper, did all the hard work to settle in and adapt to the conditions. But just when the time came to start on the acceleration, he was stumped by Rishabh Pant off the bowling of Shahbaz Nadeem in the 9th over. He was dismissed on 24 that came off 24 deliveries. Inside 9 overs of play, the top order was back in the hut for the hosts.

2. Kedar Jadhav to the rescue

There was no Virat Kohli, no AB de Villiers and no good form from Chris Gayle and Shane Watson. Despite that, they managed to cross the 150 run mark. It was not a team effort for sure. It was rather a story of one man who stood firm at the crease and did not throw his wicket away. The RCB batters played careless knocks in the match and were very poor in their approach. However, Kedar Jadhav showed great character and form to help the team score in excess of 150. Jadhav came in to bat at number four position when Mandeep Singh was dismissed.

He started off on a good note and then accelerated his innings. He did not let the bowlers unsettle him despite the fact that the Delhi Daredevils bowlers were bowling very tight lengths. Jadhav reached to his half century and in the process, took RCB over the 120 run mark. He was eventually dismissed in the 17th over after scoring 69. His 69 runs came of just 37 deliveries and was studded with 5 sixes and as many number of fours.

3. Delhi Daredevils bowlers show class

The bowlers of the Delhi camp oozed class and aggression on the day. All bowlers bowled exceptionally well and it was heartening to see Zaheer Khan back in action. Zaheer bagged 2/31 in his spell of 4 overs and bagged the priced scalp of Kedar Jadhav. Chris Morris was the pick of the bowlers as he returned with figures of 3/21 in his quota of 4 overs.

Morris provided the early breakthrough as he dismissed Chris Gayle. Pat Cummins bowled with sheer pace and clocked speeds going as high as 154 kmph on the day. Veteran Indian spinner Shahbaz Nadeem choked the opposition in the middle overs with his left arm spin. He gave away just 13 runs for his solitary wicket in 4 overs.

4. Young guns of Delhi fail to deliver

Prior to the start of the game, a lot of talk was about the batsmen of the Delhi Daredevils camp. There were concerns over their inexperience with the bat with Aditya Tare and Karun Nair being their most experienced members with the bat. It was all about the young batting line up for them. The young guns, barring Rishabh Pant, failed to deliver on the day. Aditya Tare and Sam Billings opened the innings and had a decent start.

They added 33 runs for the first wicket but then went crashing. Tare perished in the 5th over on 18. Billings followed him soon and could score only 25 off 19. Karun Nair was a big disappointment with only 4 runs to his name. Sanju Samson scored 13 off 12 balls before heading back to the pavilion in the 11th over of the run chase.

5. Rishabh Pant plays the saving grace and Watson’s masterclass

The Delhi innings was going nowhere and was in absolute tatters in a runchase that was supposed to be a cakewalk for them. The young brigade failed largely and it looked like the match was as good as gone for them. It was just then that Rishabh Pant arrived at the crease to defy all bowlers and play a special knock. He took the team to inches close to the wicket but could not take them over the line. Pant started off cautiously but then got into a groove of his own. He started the onslaught and clobbered some magnificent sixes.

He scored a belligerent 57 off just 36 balls with 4 sixes and 3 fours to his name that took Delhi Daredevils close to the target in the final over. He was unfortunate to have been dismissed in the last over and end up on the losing side. Shane Watson, the opposition skipper, bowled tight lines in the penultimate over to create the pressure. He gave just 2 runs and then handed the ball to Pawan Negi in the final over. This was Negi’s first over in the match and he responded with the wicket of Pant.