There was complete chaos as the Delhi Capitals faced the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at their home ground, the Arun Jaitley Stadium, on Monday. RCB’s bowlers ran riot, dismantling DC’s batting lineup and bundling them out for a paltry 75 runs in 16.3 overs. Only three DC batters managed to reach double figures in what turned out to be a disastrous outing.
In contrast, it was a memorable day for the Bengaluru bowlers, particularly Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood, who wreaked havoc on DC’s top order, picking up three and four wickets respectively. RCB chased down the modest target in just 6.3 overs, losing only one wicket in the process.
Captain Axar Patel addresses DC's meagre performance
In the post-match interview, Axar Patel was asked about Delhi’s poor performance. The all-rounder admitted that even he couldn’t fully grasp what went wrong and emphasized the need to move on. He also pointed out that poor fielding has cost the team in their recent run of losses.
"Even I don't know what happened. That's why they say you have to be on your toes in cricket. We have to move on from this match. From today's point of view you can say it did effect, but you can look back, if the catches were taken or had we taken the single against GT, then momentum would have been with us. The game is such that there is no room for ifs and buts."
Patel further added that the team must learn from this setback, draw positives from previous games, and acknowledged the quality of RCB’s bowling attack while also pointing fingers at the top-order collapse.
"You have to be positive, you had a bad day and take the positives from the last 5-6 games. I wasn't surprised, they are world class bowlers, they swing it every ground, but if our openers or top order had played them out then the result might have been different," Patel concluded.
Quick summary of DC vs RCB
After winning the toss, RCB opted to bowl first. Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck in his very first over, knocking over debutant Sahil Parikh’s stumps. Josh Hazlewood followed it up with a double-wicket over, putting DC under immense pressure early on.
Although David Miller and Abhishek Porel attempted to stabilize the innings, Rasikh Salam Dar dismissed Miller for 19, triggering another collapse. Delhi were eventually bowled out for just 75 runs in no time.
In response, RCB made light work of the chase, completing it in just 6.3 overs. Jacob Bethell was the only batter dismissed, while Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli comfortably guided the team home, significantly boosting their net run rate.
Kohli, who scored 23 off 15 balls, also achieved a major milestone by becoming the first batter in IPL history to reach 9000 runs.t