@B0$
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3 for 5) and Josh Hazlewood (4 for 12) produced a devastating new-ball exhibition of swing and seam as defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru handed Delhi Capitals an embarrassing home defeat. Just 48 hours after featuring in a 264-plays-265 thriller against PBKS, Delhi were asked to bat first and blown away for just 75, losing six wickets for eight runs inside the Powerplay as the contest was effectively over before it had settled.
The chase carried a processional air thereafter, with RCB easing home comfortably to move to 12 points from eight games and continue their steady march towards another playoff appearance.
@B1$
@B2$ Delhi Capitals 75 in 16.3 overs [Abhishek Porel 30 (33); Josh Hazlewood 4-12, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3-5] lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru 77/1 in 6.3 overs [Devdutt Padikkal 34* (13), Virat Kohli 23* (15)] by 9 wickets.
@B3$
Those still filing through the gates expecting another run-soaked night were met instead by carnage. Delhi Capitals crashed to 8 for 6 after just 23 balls, as Royal Challengers Bengaluru unleashed a new-ball spell of ruthless precision.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar found close to three degrees of swing in his opening over, and debutant Sahil Parakh was greeted with a searing inswinging yorker that uprooted middle stump. If that was craft, Josh Hazlewood answered with brute force, hurrying last game's centurion KL Rahul with a steep short ball that ballooned off the top edge.
Sameer Rizvi lasted just one ball after chasing a fuller delivery and edging behind. Bhuvneshwar then returned to have Tristan Stubbs and Axar Patel nicking off in the same over, while Hazlewood joined back in by bouncing out Nitish Rana.
At 8 for 6, Delhi were flirting with unwanted history, and though they avoided dipping below RCB's infamous 49, their 13 for 6 became the lowest six-over score ever recorded in the league.
@B4$
Impact Substitute Abhishek Porel fought for a spirited 30 and was the last man out, eventually yorked by Hazlewood. David Miller, batting as low as No. 8, chipped in with 19 before miscued a pull off Rasikh Dar.
A dust storm then swept across the Arun Jaitley Stadium, adding another layer of drama to a chaotic innings. RCB searched for bowling rhythm from Romario Shepherd, but he leaked 21 in two overs and finished as the only bowler without a wicket. Suyash Sharma was miserly with 1 for 7 from four overs, while Krunal Pandya returned 1 for 9 from two.
@B5$
Not a flicker. Jacob Bethell set the tone immediately, swinging two sixes in a brisk cameo, one of them launched 104 metres into the stands. Devdutt Padikkal then carried on his rich run of form, tearing into Kyle Jamieson for 21 in a single over and ensuring the chase never paused for breath. Jamieson and Dushmantha Chameera had been drafted in to strengthen a struggling seam attack, but neither found the movement or menace that RCB's quicks extracted earlier in the night. Jamieson, in particular, endured a tough return, conceding 42 from his three overs.
Padikkal blazed 34 off just 13 balls, while Virat Kohli closed proceedings with a pair of sixes, sealing the chase with 81 deliveries still unused.
@B6$
RCB will head west to face Gujarat Titans on Thursday (April 30). The Capitals will face Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur the next day.
