DD batsmen were playing it safe and didn't take any risk against Moeen Ali who was introduced in the 7th over. Trying a combination of pace and spin and brought Mohammed Siraj into the attack from the other end. Pant who had had spent enough time on the crease hit Siraj for two consecutive sixes. Siraj conceded 14 runs in his over. Moeen Ali came in and batsmen looked to accelerate but couldn't find the gaps. They could only manage 4 runs in the over. DD were 66/2 after 9 overs.
Iyer and Pant were trying hard to go for big shots but somehow apart from some lucky boundaries nothing had been coming off the middle of the bat. Grandhomme was brought in to bowl the 10th over and conceded 12 runs including a boundary. Moeen Ali began the 11th one. Pant hit him for a maximum over long-on. But, other than that nothing special happened in that over. The innings was moving at a slower pace but the batsmen had settled on the crease. Kohli needed a wicket and called Chahal back into the attack in search of a wicket. But Chahal wasn't as successful this around and Pant started the punishment. Chahal leaked 14 runs in his over. DD were slowly building the momentum and stood at 101/2 after 12 overs.
Moeen Ali had been bowling some tight overs throughout the innings and was rewarded with an important wicket of Rishabh Pant just before he ended his spell of four overs. Vijay Shankar was the new man in. Chahal bowled his last over and ended a wonderful spell without offering too many opportunities to the batsmen. Yadav returned from the other to bowl the 15th over. Shreyas Iyer had been there on the crease for almost throughout the innings and was scoring at just below run-a-ball. He looked to change gears and failed miserably hitting straight into the hands of the fielder. Siraj dismissed Iyer. Abhishek Sharma, the debutant, was the new man on the crease. He opened his account with a boundary and Siraj answered with bouncer. DD were 125/4 after 16 overs.
Southee returned came back to bowl his 3rd. The debutante Abhishek was playing a great role for Delhi and hit Southee for consecutive sixes. Southee who had kept DD quiet in the initial overs went for 22 runs in his over. Siraj returned and the assault continued. Abhishek hit him for a six on the first ball of the over. Shankar joined the party and went for a boundary. RCB were leaking quick runs in the death overs. Southee made a comeback and succeeded in putting some breaks on the flow of runs. He conceded just 7 runs in the 19th over. Siraj bowled the final over. Tried to much variations with length and was appropriately punished for a six and a four. DD, with the help of some death over boundaries and a fifty run partnership between Abhishek and Shankar, managed to post a decent 181/4 in 20 overs.
Here are a few things to know about the Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Daredevils (RCB vs DD) match to be played at Ferozshah Kotla ground in New Delhi, the two teams' players who could prove handy, and who has said what before the clash: Pant now needs to be consistent, will soon play for India, says Ganguly: Heaping praise on youngster Rishabh Pant who smacked an unbeaten 128 off 63 balls, the highest score by an Indian in T20s, for Delhi Daredevils against Sunrisers Hyderabad, former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Friday said he now needs to be consistent to make the India cut. Wicketkeeper-batsman Pant is not part of any of the senior India teams that will tour England and play a one-off Test against Afghanistan. "I think he has a future but having said that consistency is important," Ganguly told reporters on the sidelines of a promotional event. "It's not just one-off. I was reading about Ishan Kishan where he got 21-ball 62 in Kolkata...but when you pick someone for the country you look at consistency. How many times does he keep doing that?"
Never seen shots like the ones Pant played, says Vengsarkar: Being one of the greatest exponents of 'Bombay School of Batsmanship', which is a hallmark of purists, former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar was amazed at young Rishabh Pant's unconventional strokeplay during his 63-ball-128 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL encounter yesterday. Pant hit some unorthodox lap shot in the last over bowled by India's pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar, scooping the ball over third-man for couple of sixers. "I saw him (Pant) yesterday. He played superbly. Some of the shots were innovative and I have never seen those shots before. He played extremely well yesterday," Vengsarkar praised Pant.
Kohli's hunger for improvement pleases Kirsten: Virat Kohli's insatiable hunger for improvement is a certain characteristic of a great player, says Gary Kirsten, who had coached the Indian captain during his successful three-year stint with the national team. Kirsten, who coached India from 2008-11, is once again working with Kohli as assistant coach of the Royal Challengers Bangalore. "He is a great player. He continues to improve and get better. I enjoy working with him because he continually wants to learn about the game and all the great players do that," Kirsten told PTI. The former Proteas opener also backed Kohli's decision of playing county cricket to get used to the conditions ahead of the England tour. "It is good for him to prepare (for the England tour), for any player preparation is good," he said.
You will do well if you have strong characters, says Kohli: A dejected RCB captain Virat Kohli said that his team "deserved to lose" its do-or-die IPL game against Sunrisers Hyderabad as players didn't show the kind of strong character that is crucial to winning crunch games. "We were not good enough and not up to the mark. We deserve to lose this game. We didn't show enough application. The kind of shots we played were not on at that stage. This has been the story of our season," Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Love playing alongside Virat, says AB De Villiers: South African batting great and Royal Challengers player Ab De Villiers heaped praises on India skipper Virat Kohli terming him as a "great guy and a great captain". Asked about his equation with Kohli, AB De Villiers replied: "Fantastic. He's (Virat) a great guy and I love playing with him. He's become a great captain and an even better friend. So it's been great. He's always been an inspirational character and we have a few leaders in the team that carry the guys in the tough time. We just want to look ahead and try to get better." De Villiers is the brand ambassador of Mont Blanc pens was here to launch its Le Petit Price collection. "No I am batting very well. I am very very happy. Rashid got me out previously. We haven't played a lot against each other but he bowled well and he's a very good bowler. I have a lot of respect for him," added De Villiers. He admitted that Royal Challengers Bangalore, who are on the sixth spot, haven't played well and need to focus on the next games.
Here's how DD and RCB compare head to head in IPL matches played between them so far Overall Matches played: 21
Delhi Daredevils won: 6
Royal Challengers Bangalore won: 14
No Result: 1
In Delhi Matches played: 8
Delhi Daredevils won: 2
Royal Challengers Bangalore won: 7