IPL 2024: Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Delhi Capitals and climb to fifth spot in standings

Royal Challengers Bengaluru extended their winning streak to five matches as they continued their late surge to stay in contention for a 2024 Indian Premier League playoffs spot with a 47-run win over the Delhi Capitals on Sunday.

Backed by a packed home crowd at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru posted 187/9 in their 20 overs, thanks to a 88-run third wicket stand between Rajat Patidar (52) and Will Jacks (41), after being asked to bat first.

All-rounder Cameron Green chipped in with a handy 32 towards the end as the Delhi Capitals tightened the screws in the death overs after some ordinary effort in the field, which saw then drop as many as four catches, early on in the first innings.

The Capitals’ chase, though, never got going as they lost their impact player David Warner in the very first over. Things only got worse as the young Abhishek Porel and the explosive Jake Fraser-McGurk fell in consecutive balls in the third over to leave the visitors reeling.

Stand-in captain Axar Patel (57) fought a lone battle for the Capitals as the Royal Challengers bowlers kept striking at regular intervals to bowl out their opponents for 140 with five deliveries left in the innings.

Turning point of the match

“Catches win you matches,” is a cliche, but the Delhi Capitals found out why the phrase is widely used in a tough way.

The Capitals dropped both Patidar and Jacks twice each during their third-wicket stand in the first innings. All these four catches were dropped in a span of two overs.

While Jacks was dropped when he was batting on 17 and 24, Patidar was handed lives at 36 and 47.

On a two-paced wicket in Bengaluru, their 88-run partnership off just 53 deliveries eventually proved to be the decisive factor in the match.

Skipper Patel rued the lost chances in the post match presentation, but he himself was guilty of two of those drops. The other two fielders with butter fingers were Shai Hope and Tristan Stubbs.

The Field's player of the match

Left-arm pacer Yash Dayal for his match winning figures of 3-20 in 3.1 overs is The Field’s player of the match for the contest between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals.

Entrusted to bowl the third over of the chase, Dayal struck first ball to remove the in form Porel for two, before running out the dangerous Fraser-McGurk with a bit of luck the very next ball for a 8-ball 21. The Capitals never recovered from this double blow.

Dayal later returned and got the most important wicket of Patel, who was waging a lone battle for the Capitals, before taking the final wicket of the match by rattling Kuldeep Yadav’s stumps.

‘Targeted bowlers smartly’

One of the major reasons behind the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s resurgence after a poor start this season is the red hot form of Patidar.

The 30-year-old right-handed batter seemed to have put his struggles from the start of the season behind him, as he registered his fourth half-century in the last five innings.

Patidar attributed his purple patch to smarter shot selection and picking the bowlers he wants to target.

“I have been smarter in selecting which bowlers to go after in the last few games and that’s working for me. Picking up the length early is not that easy, but I try my best to read it [the ball] off the hands as well as I can.”

— RCB's Rajat Patidar on his purple patch