DC vs RCB: Delhi Capitals beat RCB to seal playoff berth after seven years

NEW DELHI: The stakes were very high as Delhi Capitals were eyeing to seal a spot in the playoffs whereas Royal Challengers Bangalore, though locked at the bottom of the table, were keen to give a good account of themselves but in the end the home team walked away with the honours as they clinched a 16-run win at the Ferozeshah Kotla, here on Sunday.
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With 16 points from 12 games, Capitals have achieved their primary target of making it to the playoffs. This will be their first appearance in the playoffs since 2012. Chasing 188 for victory, RCB began on a positive note with Parthiv Patel (39) and Virat Kohli (23) adding 63 for the first wicket with the former doing the bulk of the scoring. But Capitals struck back and saw off both the openers in quick succession.

Thereafter, RCB struggled with Axar Patel taking two outstanding catches - one of them being that of AB De Villiers at the deep mid-wicket. And with the ball, veteran leggie Amit Mishra took two wickets while Axar claimed the prize wicket of RCB captain Virat Kohli and Rutherford sent back the dangerous de Villiers.
After the openers fell, de Villiers and Shivam Dube had raised the RCB hopes for a while, but after AB's dismissal it was as good as over. At 111 for five, RCB were staring down the barrel but Gurkeerat Singh (27) and Marcus Stoinis made the Capitals toil on the field. The duo took the fight to the enemy camp with a fighting 49-run partnership but the task on hand was too much for them.

RCB could manage 171 for seven with Stoinis remaining unbeaten on 32.
Earlier, Capitals won the important toss and posted a competitive 187 at the loss of five wickets. For the hosts, captain Shreyas Iyer made a composed 52 and was well complimented by Shikhar Dhawan. Of course, the Kotla pitch was slow and low, but the Delhi batsmen went to the pitch of the ball before smacking well directed deliveries to the boundaries.
Opener Dhawan was right on the money with another convincing knock which was filled with some audacious stroke making. Just when he looked like taking the game away from RCB, leggie Yuzvendra Chahal got him out.
The pair also had a brilliant 68-run stand and Capitals lost their way after Dhawan and Iyer got out just when they were looking dangerous and, thereafter, their team lost their way till a late charge from Sherfane Rutherford and a 46-run stand for the sixth wicket off 19 deliveries with Axar Patel changed the complexion of the match completely, tilting it towards Capitals.
Kohli was supremely pro-active on the field, changing the field whenever it was required, consulting the senior players, speaking to his bowlers etc. Still, his ever-changing tactics couldn't stop Capitals from posting a competitive score. All his bowlers went for runs barring Washinton Sundar and Marcus Stoinis, who surprisingly didn't complete his four-over quota. Instead, Kohli preferred Navdeep Saini who gave 20 runs from the last over of the Capital innings.