TATA IPL 2024: Patidar, Jacks, Dayal Shine: RCB Beats DC by 47 Runs for 5th Win
Royal Challengers Bengaluru secured their fifth consecutive victory in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) by defeating Delhi Capitals with a 47-run margin at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. A significant contribution came from Rajat Patidar (52) and Will Jacks (41), who formed an 88-run partnership off 53 balls for the third wicket. Cameron Green's unbeaten 32 and left-arm pacer Yash Dayal's impressive figures of 3-20 further bolstered Bengaluru's performance, keeping them in the hunt for a playoff berth.
Despite being asked to bat first, Delhi Capitals put down four catches as Royal Challengers Bengaluru maintained their aggressive batting approach. However, the visitors made a strong comeback in the last five overs, conceding only 49 runs and claiming five wickets to restrict RCB to 187/9, falling 13 runs short of what seemed like a probable 200-run total earlier. In response, Yash Dayal led an exceptional bowling performance on a slightly unpredictable pitch, dismissing DC for 140. Stand-in captain Axar Patel's valiant 57 off 39 balls kept DC in contention, but lack of support from other batsmen, coupled with the repercussions of the dropped catches in the first innings, ultimately thwarted their chase.
DC got success early when Faf du Plessis sliced Mukesh Kumar to a deep point in the third over. Virat Kohli was solid in his base and timing to hit four and three sixes in his 13-ball 27 before giving a healthy edge behind Ishant Sharma. Patidar hit the ground running by creaming Mukesh Kumar for three boundaries before slogging Axar over deep mid-wicket for six in the last over of power-play.
Patidar brought up his fifty off 29 balls before miscuing to extra-cover off Rasikh in the 13th over. Jacks was next to fall, as he hit straight to cover off Kuldeep. Cameron Green and Mahipal Lomror hit four boundaries collectively before Khaleel took the latter and Dinesh Karthik out in quick succession. From there, DC applied more brakes on RCB’s innings as Impact Player Swapnil Singh heaved to deep backward square-leg off Rasikh, followed by Karn Sharma and Mohammed Siraj's run-out on the last two balls of the innings.
DC didn’t have an ideal start to their chase as a returning David Warner hit straight to long-on off Swapnil in the opening over. It turned for worse as Dayal bounced out Abishek Porel off his first ball, while Fraser-McGurk, after hitting four boundaries, was run-out from the non-striker's end as Dayal, in his follow-through, got a finger on the straight drive from Shai Hope to catch him out of the crease.
Under pressure to score heavily, Hope attempted a slog off a full-toss from Lockie Ferguson but could only manage to toe-end it towards deep mid-wicket. A miscommunication between Axar and Stubbs led to the latter being run out by a direct hit from Green at the bowler’s end. Axar, however, persisted in keeping DC in the game by slog-sweeping Karn Sharma once and Jacks twice, enabling him to reach his second fifty of the season in just 30 balls.
However, Delhi Capitals' aspirations of successfully chasing the target were dashed when Rasikh toe-ended a chip to long-on off Green, and Axar's attempted heave resulted in a top-edge, which was caught by a tumbling backward point off Green as well. Ferguson and Dayal then accounted for the remaining two wickets, ensuring that Royal Challengers Bengaluru provided plenty of reasons for their loyal fans to cheer.
