IPL 2023: Manish Pandey’s fifty in vain as RCB beat Delhi Capitals by 23 runs

BENGALURU — Manish Pandey’s fighting fifty (50 off 38) went in vain as Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Delhi Capitals by 23 runs in the 20th match of the IPL 2023 at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, here on Saturday.

It was the fifth consecutive loss for the David Warner-led Delhi Capitals and they are yet to open their account in the ongoing season, lying at the bottom of the table.

The Delhi Capitals bowlers made a remarkable comeback to restrict Royal Challengers Bangalore to 174/6 in 20 overs despite Virat Kohli’s impressive fifty (50 off 34). Apart from Kohli, none of the RCB batters could score big as the team kept losing wickets at crucial junctures against a disciplined Delhi bowling attack.

Chasing a challenging total, Delhi Capitals (DC) got off to a dreadful start. The team lost Prithvi Shaw (0) and Mitchell Marsh for 0 before Mohammed Siraj dismissed Yash Dhull for 1.

David Warner got off to a start but could only manage 19 before being removed by Vijaykumar Vyshak. Abishek Porel also returned cheaply for 5 as Delhi lost half their side for 53 runs.

Manish Pandey played a brilliant knock and along with Axar (21 off 14) kept alive Delhi’s hopes in the run chase. However, once Axar and Pandey got out in quick succession in the 13th and 14th over respectively, it was an uphill task for Delhi Capitals.

The likes of Anrich Nortje (23 not out off 14) and Aman Khan (18 off 10) tried their best but it was not enough as Delhi were restricted to 151/9 in 20 overs.

Earlier, put in to bat first, openers Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis gave RCB a decent start, adding 42 runs for the opening wicket. Kohli looked in fine touch right from the start and hit back-to-back boundaries against Anrich Nortje as 11 runs came from the first over. With the pacer getting smashed, skipper David Warner brought in Axar Patel in the second over and he kept things tidy for the Capitals.

After Virat, it was Du Plessis’ turn to hit a few boundaries and he did it against Mustafizur Rahman. Left-handed Axar came for his second over and Du Plessis dispatched the fifth ball for an 86m six over the long-on fence, taking RCB to 33/0 after 4 overs.

With the main bowlers not making much impact, Warner introduced Mitchell Marsh into the attack. Marsh, who is playing his first match after joining the DC camp following his marriage, was welcomed with a boundary by Kohli and then Du Plessis hits the pacer for a four.

However, Marsh had the last laugh as he removed Faf for 22 off 16 balls on a length ball on the off stump, courtesy of a sensational catch by Aman Khan at short mid-wicket. The Australian all-rounder could have two in two but Manish Pandey dropped new-man Mahipal Lomror’s catch at point. Lalit Yadav came to bowl the final Power-play over and gave just four singles as RCB were 47/1 after 6 overs.

Though Kohli was able to find occasional boundaries, Delhi kept things under control as spinners Lalit and Kuldeep Yadav didn’t allow Lomror to bat freely. While Lomror was struggling to find his timing, Kohli was dropped by Kuldeep on his own bowling.

Despite spinners doing well, Warner went back to Mustafizur and Kohli smashed him for a boundary six to bring his 50 in just 33 balls. However, the former RCB skipper couldn’t continue longer as Lalit got rid of him with a full toss.

Glenn Maxwell came to bat next and started from where he left in the last game, dispatching Lalit Yadav for two huge sixes. However, Nortje bowled a decent next over to pull things back and Marsh dismissed Lomror (26 off 18) to give Delhi an important breakthrough.

Harshal Patel was sent ahead of Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaz Ahmed and the all-rounder hit Axar for a boundary but the spinner dismissed him in the same over. Kuldeep, who came to bowl the next over removed Maxwell (24 off 14) and Karthik (0 off 1) in consecutive balls to break RCB’s back, leaving them 132/6 after 14.2 overs.

RCB, who needed some crucial runs lower down the order, brought Anuj Rawat as a substitute, replacing him with Lomror but he couldn’t deliver as expected. The left-hander played a slow knock (15 off 22 balls).

It was Shahbaz Ahmed, who played a vital knock (20 and 12) in the end and took RCB to 174-6 in 20 overs, which turned out to be a winning total in the end.