IPL 2021 | DC vs. RCB: 3 great thrillers between the two teams

Delhi Capitals (DC) take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in what promises to be a battle of equals on current form. Both sides sit in the top half of the points table with 8 points each. They have largely settled squads with each player aware of his roles.

DC's only defeat thus far has come against the Rajasthan Royals in a game in which they lost the plot after nearly winning the game. RCB lost their last game to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a game in which they ran into an exceptional all-round performance by Ravindra Jadeja.

12th Man TV: DC v RCB Rivalries2️⃣ points earned from the Mumbai leg, we now shift our focus to Ahmedabad. Here’s everything you need to know about our all important game vs the Delhi Capitals. #PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #IPL2021 #DCvRCB pic.twitter.com/jLrMis11Y5

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 26, 2021

There seems little to choose between the two sides, although DC does look like the more organized side to an extent. All in all, the DC-RCB encounter has all the makings of a thriller.

On that note, let's take a look at 3 close encounters between DC and RCB.

Note: Delhi Capitals (DC) were earlier known as Delhi Daredevils (DD)

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1. RCB vs DD at Bengaluru, 2013:

RCB players celebrate a wicket during the encounter against Delhi (Source: PTI)

Virat Kohli invited Delhi to bat in this game. None of the Delhi batters were quite able to take the initiative on the face of some disciplined RCB bowling. Towards the end Irfan Pathan and Kedar Jadhav took on RP Singh and Ravi Rampaul to give a boost to DD. They took 30 off the last 2 overs.

RCB had to chase 153 to win the game. Morne Morkel and Ashish Nehra accounted for the openers, but AB De Villiers and Virat Kohli put up a 103-run partnership to ensure that RCB were well on track to reach their target.

Ravi Rampaul after winning the Super Over for RCB (Source: IANS)

However, after AB De Villiers was caught short off his crease by a brilliant fielding effort from Morne Morkel, RCB suffered an inexplicable collapse. Still, they managed to tie the game.

In the Super Over, AB De Villiers hit two sixes off Umesh Yadav to get RCB to 15. Delhi lost David Waronner to the first ball, but Irfan Pathan brought the game back to life with a six and a four.

Delhi needed 5 off the final ball to win the game. Ravi Rampaul executed the perfect yorker to get Ben Rohrer out as the fans in Chinnaswamy celebrated an epic win.

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2. DD vs RCB at Delhi, 2013:

Chris Gayle of RCB is bowled by Irfan Pathan of DD. (Source: Sportzpics for BCCI/IPLT20)

Virat Kohli's team were put in to bat in the return game between RCB and DD. The RCB openers were quickly dispatched but Virat Kohli turned up big at his home-ground. He thrashed 4 sixes and 10 fours in his 99 off 58 balls. DD's Umesh Yadav was pulverized for 47 runs in his last two overs. RCB got to 183/4.

DD could never get going in their chase and lost wickets at regular intervals. The game looked all but over when they lost Kedar Jadhav they were left reeling at 131/6 in 16.3 Overs. However, Irfan Pathan and Morne Morkel didn't give up.

Delhi players celebrate a wicket (Source:Sportzpics for BCCI/IPLT20)

The 18th over, bowled by R Vinay Kumar, was dispatched for 17 runs and Ravi Rampaul, who bowled the 19th over, was taken for 15 runs. Suddenly, the equation stood at 19 off 6 balls.

The final over was bowled by star performer of the night Jaydev Unadkat, who had already picked up 4/11 in his 3 overs. He was hit for three boundaries in the over, but Delhi still lost by 4 runs.

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3. DD vs RCB at Delhi, 2008:

Daniel Vettori, here in IPL 2009, helped Delhi during the later stages of the game with his bowling

In the inaugural season of the IPL, RCB decided to field first against DD in Delhi. The conditions were exploited to the maximum by Gautam Gambhir (86 off 54), Virender Sehwag (24 off 12) and Shikhar Dhawan (50 off 33). However, RCB bowlers were able to restrain the DD batsmen towards the end and held them onto 191.

Gautam Gambhir, here seen in IPL 2009, was a crucial performer for Delhi

RCB decided to open the batting with Praveen Kumar, but the experiment flopped. It was the middle order that came to the rescue, with Ross Taylor and Rahul Dravid stabilizing the innings.

However, it was the South African duo of Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher who took the game deep for RCB. However, they couldn't match the class of Glenn McGrath and Daniel Vettori as RCB lost the match by 10 runs.