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.

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#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.

#2 Shreyas Iyer's slow innings

Put into bat, Delhi got off to a horrible start as they lost their openers inside three overs. Captain Iyer was out in the middle along with the in-form Pant, who needed to stitch a partnership. They did exactly that as Pant teed off while Iyer rotated the strike.

The partnership almost touched 100 before Pant was dismissed by a spectacular catch by De Villiers. Once Pant fell, Iyer needed to kick in, but unfortunately for him and for Delhi, He got dismissed soon after. He fell for a painstaking inning of 32 off 35 balls. His slow innings was one of the reasons behind the Daredevils’ loss.

#3 The Virat-AB show

When Virat and AB are on song, there's nothing you can do. That's exactly what happened to Delhi. Chasing 182, RCB lost two early wickets and needed their key players Virat and AB to stitch a partnership. Virat started off in fine fashion as he found the gaps with ease.

Soon, AB too joined the party and there was carnage at the Kolta. Fours and sixes flowed with ease and RCB looked set to chase down their target. The partnership between Virat and AB yielded 118 runs. Kohli fell for a fabulous 70 off 40 balls but De Villiers held his nerve to see off the chase to give RCB just their fourth win of the season.

#4 Not picking up wickets in the middle overs

Defending 182, it is imperative to pick up early wickets and Delhi did just that. They got two early wickets as both RCB openers were sent packing inside the first few overs. But what followed was something sensational as Virat and AB stitched together a marvellous partnership.

Delhi needed to continue to pick up wickets but failed and hence were pushed back. They did manage to break the dangerous partnership and once Kohli was dismissed a couple of wickets fell but it was all too late as De Villiers steered RCB to a facile win. Delhi will rue their chances of not picking up wickets in the middle overs.

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