Delhi Capitals on Monday defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by a margin that ensured the qualification of both the teams for the playoffs of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
However, the six wickets victory in Abu Dhab helped Delhi Capitals in finishing the league stage at the second position. They will play Mumbai Indians in the first qualifier. RCB, on the other hand, finised third and will play KKR or Sunrisers Hyderabad in the eliminator.
Delhi Capitals chased RCB’s commendable total of 152/7 with ease, thanks to an 88-run stand between opener Shikhar Dhawan (54 off 41 balls) and Ajinkya Rahane (60 off 46).
Following their dismissal, though, Delhi had suffered a mini collpase as RCB made sure they don’t lose by a big margin for them to maintain a healthy net run-rate. RCB dragged Delhi’s innings till the end of 18th over.
While Shahbaz Ahmed (2/26) accounted for Dhawan and Iyer, Washington Sundar (1/24) got rid of Rahane.
Marcus Stoinis (10) and Rishabh Pant (8 not out) then added the required 18 runs in 10 balls to guide their side to the playoffs.
Earlier, South African pace duo Kagiso Rabada (2/30) and Anrich Nortje (3/33) came all guns blazing on a slow Abu Dhabi surface to restrict RCB to 152/7 in 20 overs.
Opener Devdutt Padikkal continued his good form with the bat with 41-ball 50 while AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli scored 35 and 29 respectively. The trio however, failed to convert the start and as a result, RCB failed to put a decent total on board.
Brief scores: Delhi Capitals: 154/4 wkts in 19 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 60, ShikharDhawan 54; Shahbaz Ahmed 2/26) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 152/7 wkts in 20 overs (D Padikkal 50, AB de Villiers 35, Anrich Nortje 3/33) by 6 wickets
With IANS inputs