IPL 2018: Match 19, RCB vs DD, Review- AB de Villiers vandalize the Daredevils into submission

Royal Challengers Bangalore move to the fifth spot in the league table with the thumping triumph.

Published - 21 Apr 2018, 23:52 IST | Updated - 21 Apr 2018, 23:52 IST

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Both Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and the Delhi Daredevils (DD) were in with a stern challenge of making a comeback in this edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchises were reeling with a string of defeats and required some herculean efforts in order to resurrect their jittery campaign thus far. The teams faced off at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

The game was poised to be a closely fought encounter, but eventually, the Challengers had it easy and romped home by six wickets. Delhi posted a competitive total on board courtesy Pant’s masterclass, but AB de Villiers’ belligerent exhibition of power-hitting picked the bones out of the Daredevils as the Gautam Gambhir’s team were left clueless in the end.

Iyer and Pant guide Delhi to respectability

The pitch at the Chinnaswamy was on the slower side by the looks of it and hence, Virat Kohli had no hesitation to bowl first. Jason Roy and Gautam Gambhir opened the batting and the duo found it difficult to churn out runs Umesh Yadav commenced proceedings for the Challengers and gave nothing away. Gambhir strained throughout his innings and finally succumbed to pressure after playing ten deliveries.

Yuzvendra Chahal was introduced in the third over and he turned the ball square which spun a cobweb of doubts in the minds of Jason Roy with some vicious leg breaks. The spinner, eventually, got rid of the English batsmen which sent both their batsmen back to the hut without many runs on the board. The onus was then on Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant to pull the team out of the precarious position.

The duo churned out a partnership of 75 runs off 49 balls, which brought the game back for the visitors. They rotated the strike as well as found the boundaries on a consistent basis, which pushed the hosts on the back-foot. The Mumbai-born batsman blazed away to his half-century in 29 balls. After this dismissal, Pant tore apart the bowling.

Glenn Maxwell joined the wicketkeeper at the wicket, but became Chahal’s second victim. Rahul Tewatia accompanied Pant in a partnership of 65 runs off 25 balls in which Pant amassed 49 runs off 18 balls at a strike-rate of 272.72. Pant finished with a knock of 85 runs, which included six boundaries and seven humungous hits into the stands.

De Villiers piles on further agony for the Daredevils

The target wasn’t unachievable, bearing in mind the records of chasing teams on this wicket. Manan Vohra, who replaced Sarfraz Khan in the playing eleven, opened the batting along with Quinton de Kock. However, he couldn’t survive for long as Glenn Maxwell nipped his wicket out courtesy of a superlative catch by Jason Roy, who dived full length on his front and grasped a stunning catch.

De Kock and Virat Kohli were starting to build a partnership, but de Kock got himself tangled into a horrendous run-out, which led to his dismissal. The onus was on Virat and AB de Villiers to build the foundation for the run chase and they were successful to a large extent with a stand of 63 runs off 39 balls. It eventually required a superlative catch by Trent Boult on the boundary to send Kohli packing.

Following the Indian skipper’s dismissal, the game was a one-way traffic as AB de Villiers peppered the boundaries and took the sting out of the Delhi bowling attack. The South African batsman notched a marvellous half-century in 24 balls, which made the run-chase a one-sided affair. Meanwhile, he also smashed the biggest six of the league when a half-tracker by Rahul Tewatia sailed over the roof.

The knock of de Villiers went from strength to strength and he helped RCB romp home to victory with a couple of overs to spare. He scored 85 runs off 48 balls, which was garnished with six boundaries and as many as seven sixes. Also, he racked up his highest score while chasing in an IPL match. With the victory, Delhi remain at the bottom of the table while the Challengers get some much-needed breather.