In what turned out to be a mostly one-sided affair, Delhi Capitals crushed Royal Challengers Bangalore by seven wickets in an Indian Premier League match played in Delhi. Delhi chased down the target of 182 in under 17 overs. With this win, Delhi moved up one place to slot in at ninth place, while Bangalore remained in fifth with 10 points. Here are our takeaways from the match.
Salt comes out all guns blazing
Phil Salt explored all corners of the ground and ended up with a 45-ball 87. He began on the right note by clubbing Josh Hazlewood for a four and a six in the fourth over. When Mohammed Siraj was reintroduced into the attack, he clubbed a couple of sixes. He also took a heavy toll on Karn Sharma and Mahipal Lomror by landing some big shots. Eventually, with just a few runs required, Salt was castled by Karn’s skidder. But by then, the result of the match was a foregone conclusion.
Salt receives good support
The trio of David Warner, Mitchell Marsh and Rilee Rossouw provided Salt with valuable support. Rossouw, in particular, showed a touch of flair with a volley of shots down the ground and through midwicket while facing Harshal Patel’s variations in the 13th over. In the 17th over, he also provided the finishing touches by pulling Glenn Maxwell over deep midwicket.
Also Read: Lucknow Look to Break Their Duck Against Gujarat
Du Plessis and Kohli provide another fine start
The pair of Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli once again shared a 50-plus alliance. During the course of his innings, Kohli also became the first cricketer to cross the 7000-run mark in the IPL. However, on the flip side, Kohli struggled to up the ante and finished with a 46-ball 55 at a strike rate of just under 120. Meanwhile, du Plessis compiled a 32-ball 45.
Lomror shines brightly
Ever since Lomror shone brightly in age-group tournaments about a decade ago, he has been looked upon as a power-hitter by franchises in the IPL. Unfortunately, he hasn’t exactly turned that potential into runs. Against Delhi, he showed glimpses of his hitting prowess with a 29-ball 54. The highlight of his knock was the switch-hit and loft he played off Kuldeep Yadav in the 14th over.
A timely spell
Marsh hasn’t been able to find his groove in IPL 2023. But he did play a part in Delhi’s morale-boosting win. On a good track for batting, he bagged the key wickets of du Plessis and Maxwell in a single over to derail Bangalore’s innings to some extent. Both the batters were dismissed by short deliveries from Marsh.