IPL 2019: Match 46, DC vs RCB - Who Said What

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have become the first team to be knocked out of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). On the flip side, the Delhi Capitals (DC) qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2012 and are the second team to do so this season. RCB couldn’t chase down 188 and fell short of the target by 16 runs at the Feroz Shah Kotla as DC held on to the crunch moments in the game.

Parthiv Patel got RCB off to a brilliant start to race to 39 off just 20 balls before getting out to Kagiso Rabada in the sixth over. But they had crossed the 50-run mark by then and Virat Kohli was also set and looking dangerous to take the game away from the opposition. Axar Patel though got the better of him with a half-tracker and soon AB de Villiers was sent back as RCB collapsed from 103/2 to 111/5.

This collapse was game-changing in the end. Marcus Stoinis and Gurkeerat Mann then stitched a quick-fire stand to keep the team in the game. The equation came down to 30 runs off the last two overs. But Ishant Sharma bowled a fantastic penultimate over to concede only four runs and Rabada was never going to give away 26 runs.

RCB could only reach 171 runs for the loss of seven wickets after 20 overs and was knocked out of the playoff race for this season.

Dhawan and Iyer slam fifties

Earlier, DC won the toss and opted to bat first. Shikhar Dhawan got them off to a superb start as he scored a 37-ball half-century. Prithvi Shaw’s poor run continued while Shreyas Iyer played another authoritative knock. He and Dhawan added 68 runs for the second wicket. But both of them and then Rishabh Pant got out in quick succession which dented their chances of posting a big total.

But Sherfane Rutherford had other ideas. He slammed 28 runs off just 13 balls while Axar Patel added 16 runs off 9 balls as RCB conceded 46 runs in the last three overs. DC posted 187 runs after 20 overs and the score proved enough for the visitors in the end.

Man of the Match, Shikhar Dhawan, said:

Very happy with this award, to be honest I didn’t expect it. Much more happy that our team is number 1, we’ll celebrate tonight. It was intentional to bat faster and am glad that I did. I am enjoying smacking the ball over the boundary. I want to be positive and keep scoring runs in the remaining games.

Delhi Capitals skipper, Shreyas Iyer said:

This is an amazing feeling. Before the start of the tournament we wanted to qualify, so we are really satisfied and happy now that we have qualified. It’s really important to let the bowlers do their job and not interfere, same is the case with the batsmen.

In every game individuals have chipped in with handy contributions and taken the team over the line. It’s important to get 50-plus in the Powerplay on this ground. Dhawan has been amazing for us and Rutherford’s cameo helped us to 180, we got 15 runs extra because of his innings. We are going to maintain the same intensity and mindset for the rest of the tournament.

We were termed as the underdogs before the start of the tournament and before the start of every match we think the same.

Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper, Virat Kohli said:

It was a very important one (toss) specially with how the wicket played. We showed a lot of character even after losing the toss, but it got away a little bit in the end. We were thinking 160-165 but 185 on that sort of a pitch, with three spinners, was always going to be tough.

Delhi played better than us in the crunch moments. We started off really well with the bat. PP was outstanding and then I got going, but me and AB getting out to balls that you don’t get out to. That’s how the game goes some times.

We just decided to have a lot of fun and that’s why we won four out of the last six games we have played. The important thing now, with two games left, is to go out there and have fun. Not take too much pressure.

Obviously we want to perform as best as we can, but the fun factor should not go away. We put ourselves under too much pressure in the first six games and then it is always hard work in the latter half. We have to go out there and play positive cricket. Once the last two games are done, sit down and see where the tournament goes.

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