As it happened

“Some of those nights when I see the ball well, last two innings, I didn’t. But tonight it was nice and clear. It buys my time an extra split second to make a decision. When I do get going, I cash in on the momentum. I spoke about being a black mamba earlier. And today I wanted to be that.” - MoM AB de Villiers.

“We still have a few areas to correct, but when you have the brilliant AB in the team, he always makes you smile.” - RCB captain Virat Kohli.

“De Villiers took the game away from us. We were in the game, 175 was a great effort from the batters,” - Delhi Daredevils captain Gautam Gambhir.

IPL Standings

RCB win by 6 wickets!
It was the ABD show today! Just an amazing performance from de Villiers. He remains unbeaten on 90 off 39 deliveries. The knock included 10 boundaries and five sixes. He single-handedly took the game away from Delhi, who looked to be in with a chance after RCB were 29/2. Kohli’s dimissal had put Delhi back in with a chance, but De Villiers shut them out completely.

After 16 overs, RCB 149/4. They need 26 runs required from 24 balls.
WICKET! Anderson bowled by Boult! Looks for a big heave but misses it completely.
The action, though, took place in the previous delivery. It was a comedy of errors. De Villiers, went for a run, Anderson had hesitated, but knew it was de Villiers who was running towards the danger end. He made a u-turn in an attempt to overtake his in-form partner. The throw towards the non-striker’s end, though, was wild and there was enough time for Anderson to make it back to the striker’s end.
Anderson b Boult 15 (13b, 6s: 1).

After 15 overs, 140/3. They need another 35 runs from 30 balls.
De Villiers is producing a masterclass now. He is now unbeaten on 78 runs off 33 balls with 8 boundaries and 5 sixes. Delhi don’t seem to have a solution to contain him for now.

After 13 overs, RCB 109/3 (De Villiers 60*, Anderson 3*).
100 up for RCB! De Villiers also reaches his half-century. He is the key now for RCB. Kohli’s dismissal was a major setback, but the South African is going along well here. He’s targeting the boundaries and finding them with ease. He’s now smashed seven boundaries and three sixes.

WICKET! Kohli gone! Boult picks up an unbelievable catch in the deep. Kohli hits it full towards the fine leg fielder. Boult dives backwards right near the boundary rope. He clutches the ball with one hand and manages hold on with the rope just centimeters away.
Kohli c Boult b Patel 30 (26b, 4s: 2, 6s: 1).

After 10 overs, RCB 82/2 (Kohli 27*, De Villiers 33*).
Kohli, De Villers have now added 53 runs for the third wicket. They are going strong, dealing in boundaries. Delhi need a breakthrough right away.

After 8 overs, RCB 66/2 (Kohli 22* off 18, De Villiers 23* off 9).
Kohli and De Villiers have gone on the offensive. The runs are coming quickly now. De Villiers has now scored 5 boundaries in a span of 7 overs. Three off them came on consecutive balls off Nadeem.

After 6 overs, RCB 43/2.
Kohli and De Villiers in the middle now for RCB. A wicket now could prove catastrophic for the team. It’s a crucial stage in the game. The hosts will hope for a big stand here.

After 5 overs, RCB 37/2.
WICKET! De Kock run-out! Kohli plays it behind the stumps, De Kock says yes for the run, but then hesitates, Kohli by then has come down a few paces and runs towards the non-strikers’ end. De Kock can’t do anything but go the other way, where he falls short by some distance.
de Kock run out 18 (16b, 4s: 1, 6s: 1).

After 4 overs, RCB 24/1.
Kohli has joined De Kock in the middle. RCB will hope he sticks around. They need him to stay in the middle for a while if they hope to surpass Delhi’s imposing total.

After 2 overs, RCB 9/1.
WICKET! Vohra departs. Gambhir brings in maxwell to bowl an over of spin. Vohra tries to attack the part-timer. He looks for a slog sweep and holes out. Roy completes a fine diving catch at deep backward square.
Vohra c Roy b Maxwell 2 (5b).

After 1 over, RCB 5/0.
Watchful start by the hosts. Boult bowled a tight first over. De Kock got a boundary in. But, there was also a close LBW shout against Vohra, but it would have gone down leg.

DD 174/5 in 20 overs.
After losing Gambhir and Roy early, Pant and Shreyas led the Delhi’s revival on a tricky wicket which was tilted in favour of the bowlers early on. After Shreyas’ exit, Pant took over with style. His knocks included some sensational shots and helped his side blunt the RCB attack as they went on to post a competitive total.

WICKET! Pant finally falls.
He looks to get another big hit under his belt, but holes out. He didn’t quite pick up the slower delivery off Anderson. De Villiers completes a fine catch in the deep.
Pant c de Villiers b Anderson 85 (48b, 4s: 6, 6s: 7).

After 19 overs, DD 159/4 (Pant 79* off 45).
Pant has found a higher gear. He’s going down on his knee and targeting the area behind the stumps. There have been some bizarre shots, but they are coming off quite well. He targeted Woakes in the 19th over. got his team 18 runs off that one.

After 17 overs, DD 130/4 (Pant 52* off 34).
50 up for Rishabh Pant. The youngster is playing a fine knock at the moment. It’ll be interesting to see how he goes about from here on as Delhi hope to notch up a big knock.

After 16 overs, DD 117/4.
WICKET! Maxwell gone! He tries to be cheeky with a reverse sweep off Chahal. He doesn’t get the lift and is caught by Siraj over square as a lunging Siraj completes a fine catch. Pant, though, is unfazed by the wicket and smashes Chahal for two huge sixes.
Maxwell c Siraj b Chahal 4 (6b).

After 15 overs, DD 103/3.
100 up for Delhi. Shreyas’ wicket will come as a setback for Delhi, but Pant is still going strong. With Maxwell around, they will be hopeful of a competitive total from here on.

After 14 overs, DD 98/3.
WICKET! Shreyas falls right after completing his half-century. It’s a soft dismissal. He looks to cut as Sundar bowls a a wide delivery. He, however, fails to find the middle of the bat and edges it to the short-third man fielder.
Shreyas c Siraj b Sundar 52 (31b, 4s; 4, 6s: 3).

50 for Shreyas! Fine knock by the youngster. The knock comes at a time when his team needed it the most. He and Pant have now added 74* runs for the third wicket.

After 12 overs, DD 72/2 (Shreyas 34*, Pant 26*).
The pair of Shreyas and Pant has now added 48* runs for the third wicket. DD’s run-rate though still hovers around 6. They need to get going from here on.

After 10 overs, DD 58/2.
Shreyas and Pant have done well so far to lead the revival for Delhi. The pair isn’t hanging back and are taking the attack to the bowlers.

After 9 overs, DD 53/2 (Shreyas 28*, Pant 14*).
50 up for DD! Shreyas, Pant slowly look to rebuild after a horrid start for their side. They have their task cut out for them. The conditions are tilted in favour of the bowlers, but the batsmen are finally breaking the shackles.

After 6 overs, DD 28/2.
WICKET! Chahal sends back Jason Roy. The batsman was beaten three times before that ball, it was just fourth time lucky for Chahal. He bowls a fine flipper which slides on. Roy misses it completely and the ball crashes into the stumps.
Roy b Chahal 5 (16b)

After 5 overs, DD 22/1 (Roy 5*, Shreyas 11*).
Shreyas finally breaks the shackles. Dispatches Umesh for a two boundaries. Delhi have a long rebuilding process ahead of them.

After 4 overs, DD 11/1.
Another tight over from RCB. Chahal gets a lot of turn in his first over. It’s turning square. Jason Royal struggled all ends up, but did just enough to not give away his wicket. DD have yet to score a boundary.

After 3 overs, DD 8/1.
WICKET! Gambhir falls. The pressure gets to Gambhir. He tries to hoick Umesh over the infield. The ball hurries onto him. All manages is a top edge. Chahal completes a simple catch.
Gambhir c Chahal b Yadav 3 (10b).

After 2 overs, DD 7/0.
Woakes keeps the pressure on the visitors. Delhi yet to get a boundary away. There’s a nip in the air, and the batsmen are being watchful.

After 1 over, DD 1/0.
Umesh Yadav starts off with a tight first over. Concedes just one run. There’s rain in the air, and assisted with slight movement for the pacer.

Delhi Daredevils skipper Gautam Gambhir with his RCB counterpart Virat Kohli. Photo: Sportzpics.

“There’s a bit of rain around, the outfield is already wet and we’d like to know what to do in the second half of the game,” - RCB skipper Virat Kohli.

RCB XI: de Kock (wk), Vohra, Kohli (c), de Villiers, Madneep, Anderson, Washington, Woakes, Umesh, Siraj, Chahal.
DD XI: Gambhir (c), Roy, Shreyas, Rishabh (wk), Maxwell, Shankar, Morris, Tewatia, Harshal, Nadeem, Boult.

RCB have won the toss and they will bowl first. Manan Vohra comes in place of Sarfaraz Khan. Harshal Patel replaces Mohammad Shami in the Daredevils playing XI.

Trivia: Kohli has an average of 73.44 against DD in the IPL. He has scored 661 runs in 16 innings against the side with seven half-centuries to his credit.

Head to Head
Overall: Played: 19, RCB won: 12, DD won: 6, NR: 1.
At Chinnaswamy Stadium: Played: 8, RCB won: 4, DD won: 3, NR: 1.

RCB skipper Virat Kohli trains ahead of his side's clash against Delhi Daredevils. Photo: Sportzpics.

Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils are desperate for a win and both will be trying to outdo each other in the Indian Premier League on Saturday.

RCB and Daredevils find themselves at bottom of the points table with just a win each from four matches.

Both RCB and Daredevils go into the crucial tie after losing to Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders, respectively.

The Virat Kohli-led side started its campaign on a losing note against KKR, but bounced back in the next match against Kings XI Punjab at home, before losing the next two matches against Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians.

RCB must tighten-up their bowling having conceded 200 plus runs in the previous two games at home.

On the other hand, Gambhir-led Delhi would like to forget their previous defeat at KKR’s hands.

Delhi had lost to Punjab in their opener and then lost to Royals in a rain-hit match, but they bounced back in style against Mumbai with Roy smashing an unbeaten 91.

India speedster Mohammed Shami is all set to join the team after Kolkata Police allowed him to do so following a three-hour interrogation. The speedster is accused of infidelity and domestic violence, by his wife.