DD vs RCB, IPL 2016 Results, Match Highlights & Updated Points Table

It was the last game of the group stage of the IPL and Delhi Daredevils faced off against Royal Challengers Bangalore. It was a virtual quarter-final as the team winning would qualify for the playoffs. A win for RCB would take them to the number 2 spot owing to their superlative net run rate whereas DD had to win by a huge margin to move to number 2. Though, a win would certainly guarantee them at least a place in the top four.

RCB had won their last 3 games and Kohli scored centuries in 2 out of those 3. The margins of the victories were huge and gave them the best net run rate amongst all the teams. DD, on the other hand, had lost 2 out of their last 3 matches and somehow stayed in the hunt for a playoff spot. They had started the tournament on a high and at one point they were on top of the points table. But they lost the track a bit and have come to the situation of a do or die game to qualify.

DD had defeated RCB in a run feast when these two teams last played against each other. Batting first, RCB put up a massive 191 on the board. Kohli and de Villiers scored half-centuries. But their efforts were undone by a superb hundred by Quinton de Kock. He scored 108 off just 51 balls which gave DD a comfortable victory by 7 wickets.

The bowling of DD was under huge pressure from the likes of Gayle, Kohli and de Villiers. They have been in tremendous forms off late. The batsmen also had to be ready to score big against the best batting line-up in the league.

Royal Challengers Bangalore won the toss and elected to field first

Playing XIs:

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Lokesh Rahul (wk), Shane Watson, Sachin Baby, Stuart Binny, Chris Jordan, Sreenath Aravind, Iqbal Abdulla, Yuzvendra Chahal

Delhi Daredevils:

Quinton de Kock (wk), Rishabh Pant, Karun Nair, Sanju Samson, Sam Billings, Carlos Brathwaite, Chris Morris, Pawan Negi, Amit Mishra, Jayant Yadav, Zaheer Khan (c)

A sluggish beginning for DD

Quinton de Kock and Rishabh Pant collected 10 runs in the first over bowled by Stuart Binny. Pant then fell to Sreenath Aravind in the 2nd over for just 1 run. De Kock continued his good form and compiled his innings with some good boundaries. The score was moving well until Kohli took a blinder of a catch running backwards. Karun hit Chahal over mid off over Kohli’s head, he ran back a long way and completed an excellent catch. DD ware reduced to 43/2 after the end of the powerplay

de Kock the lone warrior

Sanju Samson joined de Kock in the middle but couldn’t stay there for too long. He was unlucky to be given out, caught behind off Chahal. There was no connection between bat and bowl, yet the umpire went with the appeal and raised his finger. Samson scored 17 off 12 balls.

Sam Billings also didn’t trouble the scorers too much and got out for just 4 runs. This time, it was Gayle who took a great diving catch. At the other end, de Kock battled hard to give DD some sort of total on the board. He brought up his half-century off 43 balls. DD were 4 down for 89 after 13 overs.

Lower order crashed to a low total

Pawan Negi yet again did not pay the returns to the amount of bucks paid to him. He had a gloomy time on the pitch and managed only 6 runs off 12 balls. Carlos Brathwaite also went cheaply for 1 run in the next over. de Kock fought a lone battle and scored 60 off 52 balls before holding out to Chahal in the 17th over. Some late blows from Chris Morris propelled the DD’s score to 138/8.

The pitch was not easy to bat on. The boundaries at Raipur are of decent sizes and difficult to clear. This is when the spin of Chahal came in handy for RCB. He picked up 3 wickets for 32 runs and became the leading wicket-taker in the tournament. Going by the form of RCB’s batsmen, the score was not going to pose too many threats, but DD had the firepower in the bowling to trouble them.

Disastrous start for RCB

Chasing a small total, RCB were off to the worst possible start. Gayle was bowled by Morris in the second over for just 1 run. To make it worse, Zaheer shocked de Villiers off a rising delivery and had him caught at covers.

They were tottering at 17/2 that stage. Rahul was in next to support Kohli who was hitting boundaries at will. Rahul too joined in the act and hit a couple of boundaries and a six to move the score to 49/2 after 6 overs.

Kohli governed the chase

Kohli and Rahul started taking control of the innings mixed caution with the winds. They kept rotating the strike and got the occasional boundary to keep the required run rate within reach. The duo built a partnership of 66 runs before Rahul was bowled by Brathwaite in the 11th over.

Watson came in but struggled to break free. Kohli though continued the art of chasing down scores. He reached 900 runs in the league and became the first player to do so. He took RCB to 96/3 when 7 overs were still to be played.

Kohli masterful innings took RCB to number 2

Watson ended his struggle at the crease as he tried to hit one out of the ground, but only managed to hit as far as the deep mid wicket fielder. He scored 14 off 18 balls. Stuart Binny came in to support Kohli who brought his 6th fifty in the league to go with 4 centuries. He finished with 54 runs off 45 balls and handed RCB an easy win by 6 wickets. Binny was not out at 16.

With the win, RCB stormed to number 2 on the points table. Kohli made the batting on a tough deck look very easy. His form in the tournament has been incredible. His tally of runs reached 919 in the league, country miles above the rest.

At one stage in the tournament, the chances for RCB to make it to the playoffs were looking bleak. But they won 4 games in a row, that too by huge differences to make a grand comeback. So near yet so far for DD. After a great run earlier, they lost their way and were knocked out coming agonisingly close.

You can also see the match highlights here.

Match Result:

DD 138/8 (20 overs), de Kock 60, Chahal 32/3, Gayle 11/2

RCB 139/4 (18.1 overs), Kohli 54, Rahul 38, Brathwaite 18/1

RCB won by 6 wickets

MOM: Virat Kohli

IPL 2016 Points Table and Standings

Position	Team	Matches	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Net RR	Points
1	GL	14	9	5	0	0	-0.374	18
2	RCB	14	8	6	0	0	+0.932	16
3	SRH	14	8	6	0	0	+0.245	16
4	KKR	14	8	6	0	0	+0.106	16
5	MI	14	7	7	0	0	-0.146	14
6	DD	14	7	7	0	0	-0.155	14
7	RPS	14	5	9	0	0	+0.015	10
8	KXIP	14	4	10	0	0	-0.646	8

IPL 2016 Playoffs Schedule

Date	Time (BST/IST)	Fixture	Venue
May 24	8:00 PM	Gujarat Lions vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (Qualifier 1)	Bangalore
May 25	8:00 PM	Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders (Eliminator)	Delhi
May 27	8:00 PM	TBC vs TBC (Qualifier 2)	Delhi
May 29	8:00 PM	TBC vs TBC (Final)	Bangalore