JOIN USGayle, Starc script RCB's easy win
Royal Challengers Bangalore, spurred by another stellar performance by the bowlers, decimated Delhi Daredevils by 10 wickets in the Indian Premier League at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium on Sunday.
For the second straight match, it were the bowlers who set up the match for the RCB. The return of left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc, without a doubt, has been a turning point for Bangalore, whose bowlers were below-par earlier in the tournament.
On an unusual Kotla pitch, which offered appreciable bounce and movement, Starc menacingly swung the new ball and caught the hosts off-guard with an incisive spell upfront. His fellow pacer Varun Aaron, who replaced the injured Yuzvendra Chahal, and David Wiese, too, stood up to the occasion and together they ripped apart Daredevils batting for mere 95 in 18.2 overs.
What was even more baffling was that Daredevils went unchanged into the contest with three spinners on such a lively track. It, however, mattered little once the Daredevils were shot out for their lowest total of the season. In no time, the brimmed stadium was chanting the names of RCB and its captain Virat Kohli, the homeboy.
In repkly, Chris Gayle and Kohli feasted on Daredevils’ bowling and peppered the ground with fours and sixes. The tall Jamaican, who had been struggling to find his range, rediscovered his form and confidence with a whirlwhind unbeaten 62 off 40 balls. Kohli made it a memorable homecoming for himself.
They reached the target in 10.3 overs and showed that batting really wasn’t so tough on this surface.
Early blows
After winning the toss, RCB struck early to reduce Daredevils to 39/4. Starc once again showed why he is rated among the best in the world. He removed an in-form Shreyas Iyer leg before, while Wiese induced a nick from captain JP Duminy.
Yuvraj Singh had an occasion to shine. But he failed to deliver. Aaron, seaming with perfection, bowled a short one and Yuvraj wafted at it to be caught behind. Aaron, then put himself on line for a hat-trick when he dismissed Angelo Mathews, who was caught surprised by the bounce. Cramped for room, he could barely manage to put the bat to the ball and AB De Villiers took at an easy catch at short-midwicket.
The RCB bowlers didn’t allow the partnerships to fester from that stage, and like in the previous match against the Rajasthan Royals, they kept taking wickets. Mayank Agarwal waged a lone battle, consuming 34 balls for his 27 but he, too, was on his way after he was beaten by the flight of Iqbal Abdulla, his bails swiftly removed by Dinesh Karthik who was impressive behind the stumps.
Kedar Jadhav’s 29-ball 33 was ended by Harshal Patel before Starc returned to crash the stumps of Amit Mishra and Shahbaz Nadeem. Once Dominic Muthuswami was run out, all RCB needed was to come out and finish the formalities. They did it in style.