IPL 2023, Delhi Capitals (DC) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Phil Salt's 87, Mitchell Marsh's 2-21 & 26 and Mahipal Lomror's 54 are top performances. Delhi Capitals beat RCB and move 9th place ahead of SRH in points table.
Brief Scores: DC 187/3 (Phil Salt 87, Josh Hazlewood 1/29) beat RCB 181/4 (Mahipal Lomror 54 not out, Mitchell Marsh 2/21) by 7 wickets.
Player of the match: Phil Salt (87 off 45)
Delhi Capitals showed the best collective batting display of the IPL 2023 season to chase down a target of 182 with 7 wickets and 20 balls to spare against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at Delhi on Saturday. Phil Salt was the wrecker-in-chief, hitting 45-ball 87 to take Delhi home. Meanwhile, a maiden IPL fifty by Mahipal Lomror of RCB went in vain.
DC beat RCB to post four wins in the last 5 games, jump to 9th
Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli strode out to the middle, ready to begin the game with a bang. Kohli wasted no time in getting started, smashing the ball towards the cover fence for a beautiful four. The fielder stationed within the 30-yard-circle tried to grab it, but it was just out of his reach. The score read 6/0 in RCB's favor after the first over. Mahipal Lomror was in a destructive mood, taking on Khaleel Ahmed and hitting him for a cracking boundary. The final over proved to fruitful for RCB as nine runs came off it, taking their total to 181/4 in 20 overs. Lomror remained unbeaten on a blistering 54 off 29 balls, while Kohli scored a well-crafted 55 off 46 deliveries. The target looked challenging, but RCB was ready for the fight.
David Warner and Phil Salt walked out to start the Delhi Capitals' chase, facing the barrage of Mohammed Siraj's attacks. Josh Hazlewood was soon brought into the attack, and Salt got lucky with a thick edge that flew past the slip fielder for a boundary. RCB's Wanindu Hasaranga was then introduced into the attack, but Salt welcomed him with a massive maximum over the square leg fence.Siraj was in for some punishment as Salt hammered two massive sixes and followed it up with another boundary. Delhi Capitals were making light work of the chase, and Rilee Rossouw put the final nail in the coffin by hitting Maxwell for a massive six over the mid-wicket fence. Delhi Capitals completed the chase in just 16.4 overs, winning the match by seven wickets. Rossouw was unbeaten on 35 off 22 balls, leading Delhi to a well-deserved victory.
Talking points; DC’s Epic Response To The Above-Par Target
181 was an above-par score at Delhi. But DC made a mockery of the target, overhauling it with 20 balls to spare. It exposed the inconsistent bowling unit of RCB as it fell apart in the face of an aggressive batting display from the DC batsmen. RCB bowlers could not bowl to their plan as Salt disintegrated it and Co. However, what was baffling was RCB’s lack of plan B in bowling after they were taken to task by the opposition. This is something RCB needs to work on to pose serious challenges to the opposition.
RCB post 181/4
RCB won the toss and batted first. The openers–Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli - started well, posting an 82-run stand for the opening wicket in 10.3 overs. However, they never really got the momentum going with big overs eluding them. Captain du Plessis (45) looked to up the ante but holed out in the deep to Axar Patel off Mitchell Marsh’s bowling. No 3 Glenn Maxwell then edged it behind for a golden duck while looking to play a backfoot drive off a rising delivery. Mahipal Lomror then showed great urgency to play shots and improve the run-rate. Meanwhile, Kohli dropped the anchor, rotating the strike as Lomror looked in great touch. Kohli fell to a flick off Mukesh Kumar’s bowling for 46-ball 55 with 5 fours. Lomror and Kohli posted a 55-run stand in 5.2 overs. The final flourish in the death overs didn’t happen, with RCB managing 44 runs in the last 4 fours. Lomror scored 54 not out as RCB posted 181/4.
DC batters post an easy win
It was a batting pitch, but inconsistent Delhi needed to bat well to overhaul the target of 182. And Delhi openers David Warner and Phil Salt came out all guns blazing, taking on the best RCB pacer Mohammed Siraj to destroy the backbone of the RCB bowling attack. The two posted a quick stand of 60 runs in 5.1 overs before Warner mistimed a shot to be caught by du Plessis for 14-ball 22 off Josh Hazlewood’s bowling. Salt continued with his attacking game, and his partner Mitchell Marsh joined in the fun. The two posted a stand of 59 runs in 5.2 overs. Marsh fell for 17-ball 26 off Harshal Patel’s bowling. But Salt gave no respite to the RCB bowlers, getting the big shots at regular ease. Salt eventually fell for a 45-ball 87, bowled by Karn Sharma, but by then victory was a formality for DC. Rilee Rossouw (22-ball 35) finished the chase in the company of Axar Patel (8).
Read More: IPL 2023, LSG vs RCB: du Plessis, Bowlers help RCB won low scoring thriller; RCB move to 5th place
Let’s scan the top three performances from the game between DC and RCB in IPL 2023
Mahipal Lomror, 54 not out
Mahipal Lomror had shown signs of brilliance during his knock of 34 against KKR previously. In the clash against DC, he finally found his rhythm to strike his maiden IPL fifty. He came at the fall of Glenn Maxwell’s wicket and showed great urgency to not only come up with some brilliant shotmaking but also hard running between the wickets to convert ones into twos. He dominated a partnership of 55 runs in 5.2 overs with Virat Kohli and even overshadowed the former RCB captain with his big hitting. Lomror struck 6 fours and 3 sixes during his knock of 29-ball 54 not out. The best shot of his bat came when he reverse-swept Kuldeep Yadav for a four.
Read More: IPL 2023, Mid-Season Review: Balanced GT aim for back-to-back trophies; CSK, RR, LSG fighting hard
Phil Salt, 87 off 45
Phil Salt destroyed the bowling attack of RCB almost single-handedly. He came out all guns firing right from the first over bowled by Mohammed Shami. He and David Warner ensured that the RCB bowlers never settled down as they kept attacking them. Salt was the most impressive of the two as he cut, pulled, and played the lofted shots with ease. He was even impressive against the RCB spinners, giving the charge whenever the opportunity presented itself. He was finally dismissed bowled by Karn Sharma, but by then he had ensured a comfortable DC victory. Salt cracked 6 sixes and 8 fours during his knock of 45-ball 87.
Read More: IPL 2023, KKR vs GT: Shankar-Miller stand of 87* guides Gujarat to the top of points table
Mitchell Marsh, 2/21 and 17-ball 26
Mitchell Marsh produced useful cameos with the ball and bat to help Delhi post a 7-wicket win against RCB. First, he broke a threatening opening stand of 82 between du Plessis and Kohli, and dismissed the dangerous Maxwell off the next delivery itself to break the backbone of the RCB batting unit. Later, Marsh struck a useful cameo of 17-ball 26 with 3 fours and 1 six to help Delhi never loses momentum after the fall of opener Warner. The stand of 59 runs between Salt and Marsh was the game-changer for RCB in this match.
Points Table Scenario & What's Next
With this win, DC moved ahead in the points table for the first time this season, jumping to 9th, with 4 fours in 10 games. RCB are placed fifth, with 5 wins from 10 games. DC will now play CSK on May 10, while RCB will play Mumbai Indians on May 9.
Read More: IPL 2023, RCB vs KKR: Varun, Suyash shine as KKR thrash RCB twice in season; RCB at 4th place
IPL 2023 Points Table
Comments