In their first home game of the season, skipper Shane Watson won the toss for RCB and chose to bat first. A magnificent innings of 69 off just 37 balls with 5 fours and 5 sixes by Kedar Jadhav took them to 157 for 8 after 20 overs. Shahbaz Nadeem bowled a beautiful spell of 1 for 13 off his 4 overs and Chris Morris took 3 for 21 in his quota.
The DD innings stuttered in reply with none of the top four making a major contribution. It was only a breathtaking innings of 57 by Rishabh Pant that kept them in the run chase till the last over but his dismissal sealed Delhi’s fate and RCB got off the mark in IPL 10 with a 15-run win.
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Let’s rate the players from this match on a scale of 1-10:
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Kedar Jadhav – 9
Jadhav came in at No. 4 with the score at 41/2 in the sixth over, which soon became 55 for 3, but that didn’t deter him from going after the DD bowlers to score a whirlwind 69 off just 37 balls. He had taken RCB to a score of some respectability by the time he was dismissed in the 17th over, with an innings that had 5 fours and 5 massive sixes.
Yuzvendra Chahal – 9
RCB’s most bankable bowler for the last few seasons, Chahal didn’t disappoint tonight as well. He was the most economical of the RCB bowlers and picked up the big wicket of Carlos Brathwaite in his last over to peg back DD. Chahal ended with figures of 1 for 19 in his 4 overs.
Shane Watson – 8
Skipper Watson opened the innings tonight with Chris Gayle and gave his team a good start by scoring 24 off as many deliveries. His bowling though, was much better this match after a shoddy show against SRH as he took the wicket of Pat Cummins and conceded only 21 in his 4 overs, including just 2 in the 19th over when DD needed 21 to win.
His move to give Negi the 20th over proved to be a master-stroke.
Billy Stanlake – 8
Playing his first match in the IPL, Billy Stanlake was impressive. He bowled with good pace, hurrying the batsmen often, and rarely offered loose deliveries to hit. The highlight of his spell was a stunning delivery to get rid of Karun Nair and he added the wicket of Samson in his last over to end with figures of 2 for 29.
Pawan Negi – 7
Playing for RCB this season after being one of the most expensive players last season for DD, Negi couldn’t impress with the bat and scored 10 off 8 deliveries before being dismissed by Morris.
But when he was finally called on to have a bowl in the final over of the run chase with Delhi needing 19, he delivered in style by dismissing DD’s last hope, Pant, off the first ball and then Nadeem off the third to win it for his team.
Iqbal Abdulla – 6
Playing his first match this season after missing the opener against SRH, Iqbal Abdulla came in to bat at No. 8 and scored only 5 off 7 balls. His bowling was expensive but useful, as he got rid of the dangerous looking Sam Billings at a critical time in the innings when he was well set on 25. He added the wicket of the big hitting Chris Morris in his last over to finish with 2 for 36 off 3 overs.
Tymal Mills – 6
RCB’s most expensive purchase at this season’s auction, Tymal Mills continued to impress and bowled Aditya Tare in his first over. He bowled relatively economically and conceded 33 off his 4 overs to keep his team in the hunt.
Stuart Binny – 5
Stuart Binny got a chance to bat much higher tonight than he usually does as he came in at No. 5 instead of the usual 7, but couldn’t make good use of the opportunity. He scored a scratchy 16 off 18 balls before being dismissed by Zaheer but did manage to stick around with Jadhav to string together a crucial 66-run partnership. He wasn’t required to bowl tonight but took a catch to dismiss Sanju Samson.
Vishnu Vinod – 5
Making his IPL debut, the young wicketkeeper-batsman made a bright start and hit a six early in his innings, but was run out soon after for just 9. He kept wickets for RCB in this match in place of Kedar Jadhav and was sharp behind the stumps. This performance should be enough to keep him in the XI till Virat Kohli gets fit.
Mandeep Singh – 4
Coming in at No. 3 tonight after opening the innings in the last match, Mandeep smashed 3 fours quickly as he started his innings promisingly, but lost his wicket just as he was starting to look good.
Chris Gayle – 2
The “Universe Boss” as he calls himself, Chris Gayle couldn’t set the Chinnaswamy Stadium alight with his power hitting tonight and was dismissed in just the 4th over of the innings with the score reading 26. He scored only 6 off 8 balls before being done in by Morris, and wasn’t called on to bowl by Shane Watson.
Delhi Daredevils
Rishabh Pant – 9
Pant started very aggressively, hitting the first ball he faced for a huge six over mid-wicket. He kept going big and scored an emotional half century, studded with 3 fours and 4 sixes. His efforts kept DD alive in the run-chase till the end and it was his dismissal in the last over that tilted the game towards RCB.
Chris Morris – 9
The T20 specialist from South Africa and DD’s best player from last season, Chris Morris started this season with an excellent spell of 3 for 21 off his 4 overs, including the wickets of Gayle and Negi. His efforts went a long way in restricting RCB to just 157, but he failed with the bat after coming in at No. 6 with still more than 70 needed, and was dismissed for just 4.
Shahbaz Nadeem – 9
The highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy for two consecutive seasons, Shahbaz Nadeem spun a web around the RCB batsmen from which they could never escape. He bowled a miserly spell of just 13 in his 4 overs which was his most economical ever in the IPL and picked up the wicket of the RCB skipper Watson to derail the innings.
Pat Cummins – 7
Playing his first match for DD, Pat Cummins did what he is best known for – bowl fast. He conceded only 29 off his 4 overs and took the wicket of Mandeep Singh in the powerplay to put the brakes on RCB’s scoring. With the bat though, he played a poor shot at a critical juncture to be dismissed for 6 in the 17th over with Rishabh Pant well set at the other end.
Zaheer Khan – 7
India’s finest left arm pacer and DD skipper, Zaheer Khan, was playing competitive cricket for the first time after IPL 9 and looked quite good. He picked up the crucial wickets of Kedar Jadhav and Stuart Binny to finish with figures of 2 for 31, and captained the side really well.
Sam Billings – 6
Opening the innings for Delhi in the absence of Quinton de Kock, Billings entertained the crowd with some classy shots and an outrageous six off Abdulla where he reverse-swept him, but was dismissed soon after, having scored 25 off 19 deliveries. His dismissal left DD in some trouble.
Aditya Tare – 5
The Mumbai keeper opened the innings with Sam Billings and managed to give DD a decent start, hitting three crisp fours, but was dismissed before he could make it count for just 18 by Tymal Mills. His place in the XI could be under some scrutiny once Shreyas Iyer gets fit.
Sanju Samson – 5
The flamboyant young wicket keeper batsman once again flattered to deceive. Coming in at No. 4 in the sixth over of the innings, he never looked comfortable during his stay at the wicket and scored 13 off 12 deliveries before holing out to Stuart Binny off the bowling of Stanlake. He did, though, take an outstanding catch to dismiss Chris Gayle earlier in the match.
Amit Mishra – 2
The veteran leg-spinner had an off day and could never really settle into any rhythm with Kedar Jadhav going after him from his first over itself. In his 2nd over, he conceded 24 with Jadhav hitting him for 2 sixes and 2 fours, meaning he ended up conceding 32 off his 2 overs. With the bat too, he didn’t help his team’s cause at all and scored a poor 8 not out off 14 balls that included scoring just 1 off 5 balls in the 19th over when DD needed 21 to win.
Carlos Brathwaite – 2
The West Indies T20 captain, Carlos “Remember the name” Brathwaite, had a night to forget with the ball as he conceded 29 in his 2 overs, going for 2 fours and as many sixes, all to Kedar Jadhav. It didn’t get any better with the bat too as he scored just a solitary run off 5 balls before being bowled off the bowling of Chahal.
Karun Nair – 2
After a scratchy Test series against Australia, much was expected from Karun Nair here as he was one of the more accomplished batsmen in the DD line up, but he failed to make an impact and after hitting an edged four, was bowled by Billy Stanlake off just his third ball.
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