IPL 2018, DD vs RCB: 4 reasons why Delhi lost against Bangalore
Delhi Daredevils squared off against the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi today. Kohli won the all-important toss and decided to field first. The RCB skipper tossed the ball to his leg-spinner Chahal first up and it worked wonders.
He got the ball to turn and it consumed Prithvi Shaw and Jason Roy in successive overs to give Bangalore the perfect start. Delhi clawed their way back into the contest with a fabulous partnership between captain Iyer and the in-form Pant.
Pant was the aggressor while Iyer played second fiddle to him. Pant was going great guns and it needed a special effort by De Villiers to cut short his stay at the wicket. Soon Iyer fell and Delhi were reduced to 120 for 4 with five overs to go.
They required a strong finish and it came from a 17-year old left-handed batsman named Abhishek Sharma who was making his IPL debut. Abhishek smashed a 19-ball 46 to steer Delhi to a competitive 181 for 4 in 20 overs.
Chasing 182, RCB sent Moeen Ali to open the batting with Parthiv. The move backfired as Moeen was sent packing for just one in the second over. Parthiv fell in the following over to Nepalese spinner Lamichhane to reduce the visitors to 18 for 2.
Kohli was joined by De Villiers and both began to torment a hapless Delhi attack to all parts of the ground. Kohli was eventually dismissed for a wonderful 70 off 40 balls but not before a splendid partnership with De Villiers which yielded 118 runs.
A couple of wickets fell but it was all too late as RCB romped home with an over to spare to keep themselves alive in the tournament.
Let's take a look at the reasons behind Delhi's loss.
#1 Chahal's wonderful opening spell
RCB won the toss and opted to chase on a pitch that was good for batting. Delhi openers Prithvi and Jason Roy were in decent form and knowing their susceptibility towards spin, Kohli decided to open with his leg-spinner, Chahal.
The move paid off as Chahal went through the gates of Prithvi Shaw in the last ball of his first over. Kohli gave him another over and the leggie didn't disappoint as he rattled Roy's stump to give RCB the perfect start as Delhi were reduced to 16 for 2. Chahal's wonderful first spell read 2-0-10-2.