IPL 2025
Krunal Pandya, Virat Kohli power Royal Challengers Bengaluru to beat Delhi Capitals
New Delhi/IBNS: Royal Challengers Bengaluru's remarkable away form this season showed no signs of stopping as they defeated the Delhi Capitals by six wickets and nine balls to spare at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
The result saw RCB vault to the top of the IPL points table with 14 points from ten games (seven wins) and the Bengaluru outfit also became the first team in IPL history to win their six away matches of a season on a trot, a remarkable streak that underlines their dominance on the road so far this season. This result also makes the race to a top-two finish very interesting, with three teams currently tied at 12 points.
Chasing a target of 163, RCB faced early setbacks, losing three quick wickets for just 26 runs in four overs. Axar Patel struck twice in his second over, skittling both Jacob Bethell and Devdutt Padikkal. To make things worse, a misjudged call led to captain Patidar being run out, briefly halting the chase.
However, a sturdy partnership between Virat Kohli and Krunal Pandya steadied the innings. Virat Kohli (51) anchored the innings, moving atop for the Orange Cap race, while Krunal Pandya remained unbeaten on 73.
The tide had turned in favour of RCB with the team requiring 17 from 12 balls, but Tim David's onslaught ensured that the visitors sealed the contest with nine balls left. Tim David began the over launching a massive six straight back over the bowler's head and followed that up with three 4s to close out the game.
Earlier, being invited to bat first, Delhi Capitals got off to a flying start with Abishek Porel unleashing a quickfire 28 off 11 balls, but the Capitals faltered to capitalize on their explosive start.
The loss of wickets at regular intervals restricted them to a modest total. KL Rahul rebuilt steadily on one end, but it was Tristan Stubbs' late blitz that pushed Delhi past 160, giving their bowlers a fighting total.
For the bowling side, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3 wickets) applied the pressure throughout the innings while Josh Hazlewood's two wickets saw him go top on the purple cap leaderboard, alongside making a telling impact, with Suyash Sharma and Krunal Pandya holding things tight, never allowing Delhi to take control.
(With inputs from IPL website)
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