IPL 9, Match 56: DD v RCB – 5 Talking Points

The last of the league stages of the IPL saw the clash between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Delhi Daredevils (DD), which was virtually a knock-out – the one who wins goes through to the playoffs and other goes out.

RCB skipper Virat Kohli was happy to put the opposition into bat, which has been the trend in this season of IPL. Delhi batsmen didn’t have the best of the starts. Despite Quinton de Cock scoring 60 runs, no one else contributed much and Delhi ended up posting a total of 138 runs and even with some wickets up front, that total was not enough to trouble RCB. The skipper saw them through to the playoffs with 11 balls in hand.

With the win, RCB moved to the 2nd position in the points table and will play against Gujarat Lions in the playoffs.

1. Yuzvendra Chahal’s spell:

Chahal picked up 3 wickets in the match to become the leading wicket-taker of the tournament – the purple cap holder. He dismissed the inform Karun Nair in his very first over. Chahal would want to give Virat a lot of credit for that wicket. Nair played a delightful loft over mid-off, but Kohli scampered from short mid-off and got there in time to complete a great running catch.

Chahal dismissed Sanju Samson in his 3rd over, with a flat delivery wide outside off, while he was trying to dab a steer to third man. And in his final over, he grabbed the important wicket of de Kock and Chahal now had 3/32 in his four overs.

Stats and records – IPL 9, Match 56: DD v RCB – Statistical Highlights

2. Quinton de Cock anchor’s the inning:

The Delhi Daredevils didn’t have the best of the starts when Rishabh Pant was dismissed in the second over of the match while trying to punch a back of length delivery outside off and ended up getting caught behind. Quinton de Cock held the innings together, with wickets falling at the other end. He scored 60 runs off 51 balls before he was dismissed by Chahal while looking to clear the fence towards the back-end of the innings. It was a flatter delivery outside off from Chahal, de Kock backed away and flat-batted a stroke to Chris Jordan at long-off.

3. Great start for Delhi with the ball:

A target of 139 seemed small for RCB, but Delhi had a great start as they got the two big wickets of Chris Gayle & AB de Villiers in the 2nd and 3rd over of the match. Gayle chopped on a good length shaping away delivery from Chris Morris onto the stumps.

A good length delivery on off-stump from Zaheer Khan bounced more than de Villiers had expected who was into his drive and didn’t bail out, and gets popped out to extra cover where Jayant Yadav dives to complete the catch. These two wickets at the top really gave them an advantage.

Also read – Twitter Reactions: Virat Kohli leads RCB into the playoffs

4. Virat Kohli – KL Rahul’s match winning partnership:

After the loss of two wickets up front, Kohli added 66 runs with KL Rahul to get them back on track in the chase. Even in a pressure situation, the duo maintained a run rate of 8.80 along the partnership. Kohli just started off from where he had left in the previous match.

Rahul, who is considered to be one of the unsung heroes of RCB, played a crucial knock of 38 from 23 balls. He was dismissed in the 11th over of the innings by Carlos Brathwaite. It was a soft dismissal, which Rahul defended with such soft hands that the ball bounced back off the pitch and spun to clatter into the off stump as the bail came off to see the end of a good partnership.

5. Virat Kohli’s masterclass:

Kohli has been in great form in this season, hitting boundaries at will. With 4 centuries and being the highest run-getter in a single edition of the IPL, he once again led his team from the front.

Today, though, was a different scenario for him. Chasing 139 to win, RCB had lost Gayle & de Villiers early but Kohli built a match-winning partnership with Rahul and after his dismissal, the skipper carried on to see Bangalore through the chase and took them to the playoffs with an unbeaten 54 off 45 deliveries with six boundaries. It was his 10th score of fifty or more in this season. This innings also shows the adaptability of the Indian run machine, who was undoubtedly rewarded as the ‘Man of the Match’.

Also read – IPL 9, Match 56 Review: Virat Kohli special powers RCB into the playoffs