Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated Delhi Capitals (DC) by six wickets in the 46th match of the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on April 27.
Chasing 163 runs, RCB were off to the worst possible start. Debutant Jacob Bethell (12 runs off 6 balls) showed his batting talent against Mitchell Starc, flicking him for a six and a four. However, Axar Patel, who took a brave decision to bowl himself in the powerplay, dismissed the Englishman in the third over.
Devdutt Padikkal (0 run off 2 balls), who was in red-hot form, failed to trouble the scorers tonight. The southpaw tried to play a cut shot but could not execute it well and chopped the ball back on to the stumps off Axar’s bowling.
As they say, misfortune seldom comes alone. It was proved during RCB’s innings when their skipper Rajat Patidar (6 runs off 6 balls) got run-out at the non-striker’s end in the fourth over, reducing the side to 26/3. RCB could only muster 35 runs for the loss of three wickets in the powerplay.
However, Krunal Pandya (73* runs off 47 balls) and Virat Kohli (51 runs off 47 balls) showcased their experience and composure as they steadied the ship. With early wickets putting RCB under pressure, the duo forged a crucial 119-run partnership, blending cautious strokeplay with timely aggression.
While Pandya was doing the job mostly in singles, the tide changed in the 13th over when he pressed the foot on the accelerator, smacking two consecutive sixes off Mukesh Kumar. He also took the attack to Kuldeep Yadav, tonking him for a maximum in the 14th over.
Pandya brought up his fifty, second of his IPL career, off 38 deliveries with a four off Axar to end the 15th over. RCB needed 49 runs to win off 30 deliveries.
Kohli hammered a boundary off Starc in the 16th over and took a single in the 17th over to score another half-century in the ongoing season.
Pandya continued to deal in boundaries. He collected two consecutive fours off Mukesh in the 17th over, reducing the deficit to 26 runs off 18 deliveries.
Dushmantha Chameera dismissed Kohli in the 18th over to infuse some life back in to the contest with RCB still needing 17 runs off 13 deliveries.
Tim David (19* runs off five balls), facing only his second ball, smashed a six off Mukesh in the 19th over to bring the equation down to 11 off 11. This was followed by three consecutive boundaries by David as RCB completed the run-chase in 18.3 overs, defeating DC by six wickets.
This victory propelled RCB to the top of the IPL 2025 points table, while DC moved down to fourth place.
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