Delhi Capitals secured a crucial seven-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore in Match No. 50 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday. The match saw some fine batting performances from both teams, but it was Delhi's openers David Warner and Philip Salt who gave their team a flying start and set the tone for the chase.
Earlier in the day, after winning the toss and electing to bat first, Royal Challengers Bangalore posted a competitive total of 181/4 in their allotted 20 overs. The team's batting effort was led by half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Mahipal Lomror, who scored 55 off 46 and 54 off 29 balls respectively. Skipper Faf du Plessis also played a vital knock to contribute to RCB's total. However, it was Mitchell Marsh who was the most successful bowler for Delhi Capitals, finishing with superb figures of 2-21.
Chasing a challenging total, Delhi Capitals got off to a flying start with their openers David Warner and Philip Salt. The duo wasted no time in taking the attack to the opposition, and cleared their intent from the very first over by smashing Mohammed Siraj for two boundaries. Salt also joined the party and picked crucial boundaries and sixes off Glenn Maxwell and Kyle Philip to take Delhi to 29/0 after the first three overs.
With both Capitals openers batting freely, RCB skipper Du Plessis was forced to bring Wanindu Hasaranga into the attack in the 4th over itself. However, it didn't yield great results as Warner clubbed the spinner for a six and a boundary.
Salt then took Siraj to the cleaners by hitting 6, 6, and 4 off consecutive deliveries, which rattled the pacer. Siraj and Salt had a heated discussion at the pitch, and umpires and Warner had to intervene to diffuse the situation.
Despite the heated moment, Delhi Capitals' openers continued to dominate the RCB bowling attack, with Salt in particular making a mockery of the pitch with his aggressive strokeplay. Warner fell to Josh Hazlewood after scoring 29 off 23 balls, but Mitchell Marsh came out swinging hard, picking up a four and a six and taking Delhi to 70/1 - their best Power-play in IPL 2023.
Even after the Power-play, Salt showed no signs of slowing down and made a mockery of the pitch and RCB bowling to get to his fifty off just 28 balls. On the other hand, Marsh was giving him enough support with his timely boundaries, as Delhi Capitals reached 115/1 after 10 overs.
All-rounder Harshal Patel finally gave RCB a breakthrough by dismissing Mitchell Marsh, but Rilee Rossouw was the new batter, joining Salt as Delhi Capitals needed 59 runs in 54 balls. Salt was just unstoppable, and the England batter was fed some slot balls that he let go free to carry the momentum before getting out in the 16th over for a brilliant 87 off 45 balls.
From there on, Rilee Rossouw (35 off 22) played an impressive knock and along with Axar Patel (8 off 3) took Delhi Capitals over the victory line in the 17th over. Delhi Capitals' win was a crucial one as it helped them move to the top of the IPL points table, and gave them a good chance of qualifying for the playoffs.
Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 181/4 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 55, Mahipal Lomror 54; Mitchell Marsh 2-21) lost to Delhi Capitals 187/3 in 16.4 Overs (Philip Salt 87, Rilee Rossouw 35; Josh Hazlewood 1-29) by 7 wickets.