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David Miller redeemed himself in a big game at the Chinnaswamy against the defending champions RCB to seal a thrilling win for Delhi Capitals on Saturday (April 18). Miller fluffed a great chance against Gujarat Titans earlier in the season when his side needed 2 off 2. This time, he put his team in a situation where they needed 1 off 2 and there was no question of taking a single as he plundered the penultimate ball of the match for a boundary to seal a famous win.
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@B2$ Royal Challengers Bengaluru 175/8 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 63; Axar Patel 2-18, Kuldeep Yadav 2-32) lost to Delhi Capitals 179/4 in 19.5 overs (Tristan Stubbs 60*, KL Rahul 57, David Miller 22*; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3/26) by six wickets
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Despite Miller's finishing act, it was their bowling attack, especially at the death that set up the win for DC. This contest was billed as the best bowling side at the death versus the best batting unit at the death in IPL 2026. The away side convincingly won this battle. At the end of the 13th over, RCB were well placed at 132/4. Tim David and Jitesh Sharma were out in the middle and they still had Romario Shepherd and Krunal Pandya in the dugout. However, Axar Patel and Mukesh Kumar delivered excellent overs back-to-back to deliver a few dot balls to Jitesh, adding some pressure. That resulted in David refusing a single in the 16th over to take charge. However, Axar sensed David's intentions to target him in that over and bowled the very next ball wide, slow and back of a length to outfox David who could only mistime it and get caught.
That dismissal kickstarted a poor spell for RCB as Kuldeep Yadav then added to their woes by trapping Shepherd plumb in front in the very next over. Literally, only one four and one six was hit at the death, both coming in the 18th over of the innings. T Natarajan followed that up with a terrific penultimate over in which he kept outfoxing Krunal with his variations before Lungi Ngidi closed out the innings in style by conceding six runs in the 20th.
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DC had also bowled well in patches during the first half of the RCB innings. Even though Auqib Nabi conceded a couple of fours in the opening over, there were early signs that the wicket was not going to be placid. As the innings progressed, it only got slower. Even though RCB made only 34 from the first four overs, Salt exploded against Nabi, smashing him for a couple of fours and a six. Ngidi's entry in the final over of the Powerplay immediately paid dividends with the wicket of Virat Kohli but Salt continued to motor along, fetching boundaries at regular intervals. Even though both teams had productive phases, RCB still managed to score 99 in the first half.
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They were rocked early by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who struck early in the chase with a sharp in-dipper to trap Pathum Nissanka LBW - overturned on review. DC sprung a surprise with Karun Nair as the impact substitute, but his brief stay ended when Phil Salt pulled off another fine catch. The bowler struck again two balls later, removing Sameer Rizvi with Jitesh Sharma taking a sharp diving catch behind the stumps. At 18/3, DC were in trouble, but Rahul led a recovery, taking on Josh Hazlewood with a six and following it up with two boundaries, helping the side reach 50 by the end of the Powerplay.
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While Kuldeep and Axar made a telling impact in that first innings, it wasn't the case in the second half. Krunal still posed a threat that resulted in the key wicket of Rahul at a crucial juncture after the opener had gone past fifty. But prior to his dismissal, Rahul did take on Suyash Sharma for a few boundaries before losing his wicket while attempting to replicate it against Krunal. Axar and Stubbs then motored along in fine fashion with the required run rate very much in control. That allowed them to play out Krunal's final over as well without taking any risks whereas Suyash's evening ended with figures of 3-0-31-0.
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Having scored 80 runs in the middle phase for the loss of only Rahul, DC were in total control. But Axar, who struggled with cramps, had to retire hurt at one point that opened the door for RCB. With new man Miller in, RCB sneaked in some tight overs at the death with Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar giving nothing away. A six in Bhuvneshwar's final over did come at the right time for DC with the pressure mounting but DC still needed 25 from the final 12 deliveries. Stubbs, who had gone past fifty now, punished Rasikh Dar's wayward delivery for a boundary but the bowler staged a good comeback to keep both the South Africans quiet.
However, that final over of Suyash had to be compensated elsewhere which forced Rajat Patidar to bowl Shepherd for the first time, directly in the final over of the contest defending 15. All the top work in the preceding overs were undone by the West Indian as he failed to find the right length that helped Miller take full toll by going 6, 6, 4 to finish the job with a ball to spare.
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RCB: A significant break for RCB as they will return to action only after six days - again at home with Gujarat Titans paying a visit.
DC: Buoyed by the win, DC will now look for some momentum as they continue to be on the road, taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad next on April 21.
