Royal Challengers Bengaluru picked up their fifth successive win to keep their hopes alive for what would be a miraculous top four finish.
After being asked to bat first by the Delhi Capitals at the Chinnaswamy, RCB were rocked by two early wickets as captain Faf du Plessis and leading run-scorer Virat Kohli both departed in the powerplay.
Mukesh Kumar and Ishant Sharma were the culprits for the pin-drop silence across Bengaluru as the red army’s hopes looked set to shatter in the penultimate league stage hurdle.
The middle order steadied the innings with Rajat Patidar getting to a half century and Will Jacks falling just short of one.
But the 200 mark could not be breached; and on Bengaluru’s batting-heavy deck the total of 187/9 appeared just short of the mark.
Without captain Rishabh Pant, who missed out due to suspension, the Capitals appeared lost. With the bat, especially, they looked a shadow of the side that scored 221 against Rajasthan on Tuesday.
And it was none other than RCB’s resurgent bowlers who were the reason why this side were brought out — and taken out.
Four wickets in the powerplay and regular breakthroughs throughout helped the hosts to a big 47 run win, once again, against the odds.
The Royal Challengers now move up into fifth on the table, an incredible rise after spending the vast majority of the season in last place.
Following Chennai Super Kings’ victory over the Royals earlier on Sunday, though, the permutations for RCB still require some calculators.
Du Plessis’ men will need for either the Lucknow Super Giants to lose one, or for the Sunrisers Hyderabad to lose both of their remaining league games.
On top of that, RCB will have to pick up a big win over the Chennai Super Kings next Saturday, the final day of the league stage, to sneak into the playoff spots.
Pictured above: The Royal Challengers Bengaluru fans believe
Image source: @rcbtweets
