RCB beat Delhi Daredevils in super over finish

JUBILANT: Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Chris Gayle celebrates the wicket of Delhi Daredevils’ David Warner with the first ball of the Super Over during match 21 of the Indian Premier League at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.

IANS/Bangalore

Royal Challengers Bangalore pipped Delhi Daredevils in the Super Over after a tie to record their fourth win in six outings while the visitors slid to their fifth straight defeat in the IPL yesterday.

Asked to bat first, Daredevils made 152 for five while RCB, cruising at 129 for two at one stage, all but committed hara-kiri as they lost five wickets in a matter of 17 deliveries leaving them to get 12 off the 20th over bowled by Irfan Pathan.

After West Indian all-rounder Ravi Rampaul hit a six off the first ball and a couple of singles later, RCB required two off the last.

Rampaul and Vinay Kumar scrambled for a bye even as wicket keeper Kedar Jadhav fumbled with the collection as the match ended in a tie leading to the Super Over.

AB de Villiers struck two sixes off Umesh Yadav as RCB made 15. In reply, Daredevils lost David Warner to the first ball bowled by Rampaul.

However, Irfan Pathan slammed a six and a boundary off the second and fourth balls, followed by a single off the next. RCB clinched the game when Rampaul clean bowled Ben Rohrer off the final delivery.

Earlier, skipper Virat Kohli slammed his third half-century (65, 50b, 7x4, 1x6) in six matches, but RCB made a hash of the chase before coming through in the Super Over.

It was RCB’s second Super Over game, having lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad earlier this month following a tie.

Kohli was at his dazzling best after RCB lost both their openers Chris Gayle (13) and streaky Lokesh Rahul (12) for 26 runs and in the company of AB de Villiers (39, 32b, 3x4, 1x6) put on 103 for the third wicket to script a victory.

Rahul, lucky to survive a confident leg before appeal in the very first over bowled by Ashish Nehra, struck a couple of boundaries before falling to the same bowler.

Gayle, after smashing Morne Morkel for two sixes, was dismissed by the crafty South African fast bowler, holing out in the deep attempting another big hit.

Then came the entertaining partnership between Kohli and de Villiers.

Both were in imperious form as RCB purred along with neither batsman in any sort of bother until the latter was run out as Morkel’s direct hit caught him short of the crease while attempting a sharp single in the 16th over.