At the Ferozeshah Kotla ground on Saturday, Delhi’s cricket fans enjoyed a perfect evening. They cheered every boundary that came off the bat of local boy Virat Kohli (55, 46 balls, 5×4) for Royal Challengers Bangalore before seeing Delhi Capitals canter to a target of 182 with seven wickets in hand and 20 balls to spare.
The win – only Delhi’s fifth this season as they languish at the ninth spot in the standings – was set up by Phil Salt’s stunning 87 (45b, 8×4, 6×6). The England wicketkeeper’s innings for Delhi completely overshadowed the efforts of Mahipal Lomror (54 not out, 29b, 6×4, 3×6) and Kohli for RCB. Though Kohli scored his sixth fifty of the season, he may want to reflect on his strike rate of 119.56.
Delhi went at full throttle from the outset in the run chase, racing to 70/1 at the end of the powerplay. The opening stand between Warner and Salt was worth 60 runs, the duo displaying the sort of ruthlessness that has been absent in their batting this year.
Salt was particularly impressive, rattling Mohammed Siraj with aggressive strokeplay that forced the in-form pacer to move away from his usually impeccable lengths. Salt began the fifth over of the innings by top-edging a short ball over the wicketkeeper for six. Siraj then pitched the ball fuller but met the same fate as Salt found the extra cover region.
A flick towards square leg for four followed. It resulted in a heated exchange between the two players in the middle of the pitch before RCB skipper Faf du Plessis intervened to calm the proceedings. Though Warner lost his wicket in the sixth over, Salt and Mitchell Marsh continued the onslaught with a 59-run stand in 32 deliveries.
Having reached 126/2 in 12 overs, Delhi were well on course for victory. The result was virtually sealed when Salt and Rilee Rossouw slammed medium-pacer Harshal Patel for 24 runs in an over that included three sixes.
Electing to bat, RCB were off to a robust start thanks to an 82-run opening partnership between du Plessis and Kohli in 63 balls. RCB had scored only 23 runs in the first four overs, but du Plessis injected life into the innings when he punished seamer Mukesh Kumar for three fours in the fifth over. He then hit Khaleel Ahmed for a four and six off consecutive balls, showing precisely why he’s leading the run-scoring charts this season.
Kohli, who dominated the strike in the early phase, was content playing second fiddle to the South African as the partnership developed.
For Delhi, there was some respite when Marsh delivered the wickets of du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell off successive deliveries in the 11th over. Marsh, back in the team after missing the previous game due to illness, managed to get du Plessis caught at deep cover off a slower ball before finding the outside edge of Maxwell.
The respite was fleeting for the Delhi bowlers though as the runs continued to flow. While Kohli went on to reach his fifty off 42 deliveries, much to the delight of the boisterous Delhi crowd, Lomror’s onslaught may have taken the hosts by surprise. The middle-order has seldom delivered for RCB this season — a top-heavy batting unit has been a recurring frailty across the 16 editions — but on Saturday, Lomror showed that his ability hasn’t been fully tapped into yet. It didn’t prove enough in the end though.
Brief scores: RCB 181/4 (V Kohli 55, M Lomror 54*; M Marsh 2/21); DC 187/3 in 16.4 overs (P Salt 87; J Hazlewood 1/29). DC won by 7 wickets.
