Royal Challengers Bangalore managed to get back to winning way immediately on Tuesday as they held their nerve to beat Delhi Capitals by one run. Virat Kohli’s men delivered good performances with bat and ball to go top of the table in IPL 2021 after making it five wins out of the first six games.
Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals had almost chased down 172 runs after falling behind the game during the second innings. Rishabh Pant’s men remain third in the table despite this defeat as they have eight points from the first six games. Here are key takeaways from the thriller between two of the best teams in IPL 2021.
Shimron Hetmyer’s return to form is a big boost for Delhi Capitals
After the dismissal of Marcus Stoinis in the 13th over, it did feel like the chase for Delhi is going to derail. However, Shimron Hetmyer managed to provide impetus to the innings by smashing four sixes. He brought his team back into the game by hammering three sixes against Kyle Jamieson in the 18th over.
Hetmyer ended up scoring 53 runs in just 25 balls. He was distraught after losing the game, but his return to form will be a big boost for Delhi while going forward in IPL 2021. DC has largely relied on Pant, Prithvi Shaw, and Shikhar Dhawan for runs this season, so having one more batsman ready to contribute heavily bodes well for them.
Rajat Patidar comes up with crucial innings for RCB
AB de Villiers stole the show for Royal Challengers Bangalore as he scored yet another half-century that took his team to a position of strength. While the South African batsman takes all plaudits and deservedly so, it is important to know the value of 31 runs scored by Rajat Patidar against Delhi Capitals.
After losing Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and Devdutt Padikkal in quick succession, RCB needed a good half-century stand to post a big total on the board. Patidar managed to provide the right kind of support to AB de Villiers to make sure that there is no collapse. Patidar scored 31 runs in 22 balls to take the pressure of ABD in middle overs. His strokeplay made sure that the South African batsman was set to launch big shots in the death overs.
RCB’s bowling unit continues to get better with each passing game
In previous seasons, RCB would have suffered a defeat if they had to defend 14 runs in the final over. However, RCB’s bowling unit has taken massive strides in IPL 2021. With each passing game, almost every bowler is getting better and stepping up when his team needs him the most.
Mohammed Siraj has come leaps and bounds in IPL 2021 as he is now a reliable operator in powerplay and death overs. Kyle Jamieson has turned out to be a fantastic signing, while Harshal Patel continues to pick up crucial wickets. If Yuzvendra Chahal is back amongst wickets, then RCB is going to cause problems for any team on any wicket. As things stand, the bowling unit of RCB is getting better and they still have a couple of more levels to go up.