New Delhi: The Royal Challengers Bangalore huffed and puffed but couldn’t quite come up with the batting display expected of them going down against the Delhi Daredevils by 37 runs.
The home side bowled tightly to restrict the much vaunted RCB batting line-up. Anil Kumble’s boys were behind the eight ball right from the beginning of the chase, but some lusty blows from Ross Taylor injected some hope into the travelling supporters.
Rajat Bhatia got the better of Taylor and once Kallis was dismissed by Pradeep Sangwan after scoring 54, it was game over for RCB. Off spinner and new Purple Cap holder, Amit Mishra and Farveez Maharoof starred for the Daredevils, both picking up three wickets each.
Requiring just above nine runs an over, the Challengers had their task cut out, but the away side had a quality batting line-up worthy of chasing any target.
Cameron White was the first to go, holing out at long-off to Amit Mishra, adding just four to the total. Jacques Kallis, on the other hand, was continuing with his Orange Cap worthy form, but this time his aggression was far more restrained thanks to some tight bowling from the Delhi bowlers.
To bat first was the obvious choice and perhaps the only choice Gautam Gambhir had after winning the toss. David Warner and Virender Sehwag looked in great nick, punishing the RCB bowlers to all parts of the ground.
But the Challengers struck in the fifth over, Abhimanyu Mithun going through the defense of Sehwag. Warner followed suit after a breezy 33, Kohli snapping up the Aussie at long-on. The stage was set for a responsible innings, and stepped in Paul Collingwood - the middle-order batsman displayed grit and craft with supreme confidence in his innings of 75*.
The Englishman dominated the RCB bowlers with utmost ease, smashing seven hits over the boundary. The Daredevils eventually managed to score 184 for the loss of five wickets.
With this win, the Daredevils jumped over RCB to clinch the 2nd spot on the points table.
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