Dubai: In a tournament increasingly defined by carnage and total balls, the Indian Premier League (IPL) finally turned in favor of the bowlers on a dramatic night in Delhi.
Just days after a record 265-run chase at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar went through Delhi Capitals with devastating spells to seal a dominant nine-wicket victory for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
Delhi’s innings unraveled almost immediately, falling for six wickets for just eight runs inside four overs and stumbling to a record-low 13-6, the worst ever in the IPL, on a pitch that offered enough seam movement and uneven bounce for the RCB attack to exploit to the full.
After winning the toss, captain Rajat Patidar made the call to field first, a decision that proved spot on as Delhi’s batting line-up folded under the relentless pressure.
There was little resistance as a steady stream of batsmen returned to the pavilion, unable to cope with the accuracy and discipline of the bowling.
KL Rahul, who had blazed the same ground with an unbeaten 152 just days earlier, fell in the opener, setting the tone for a collapse that saw three of the top six dismissed for ducks while the others failed to reach double figures.
Only Abhishek Porel (30) and David Miller (19) showed any semblance of resistance, but by then the damage was long done, with Delhi effectively bowled out within the first few overs of the contest.
Chasing a modest target, Bengaluru suffered an early setback when Jacob Bethell was dismissed by Kyle Jamieson, but were never in any real danger.
Virat Kohli (23) and Devdutt Padikkal (34) led the chase with ease, before Kohli finished things off in style by blasting T Natarajan for a straight six to complete the win in just 6.3 overs.
The result strengthened Bengaluru’s hold on second place in the standings, just behind Punjab Kings, while Delhi slipped to seventh in the 10-team table.
Reflecting on the dramatic turnaround from the high-scoring thriller at the same venue days earlier, man of the match Josh Hazlewood said: “Maybe coming in here after 500-plus runs in the last game, you don’t expect that.”
He added, “I just chased Bhuvi. There was a bit there in the first six overs. It was a bit up and down. Once the ball softened, it became steady.”
