Dubai: A last-ball six from Srikar Bharat (78 not out off 52 balls) helped Royal Challengers Bangalore clinch a thrilling seven-wicket win over table-toppers Delhi Capitals in Match 56 of IPL 2021 here on Friday.
Despite the victory, Virat Kohli and side remain third in the table at 18 points behind DC (20) and second-placed CSK (18) with the latter ahead by the virtue of better net run rate.
Opting to bowl first, RCB bowlers made a comeback in the match to halt Delhi at 164/5 after conceding 88 runs in the first 10 overs while picking no wickets. Mohammed Siraj (2/25) and Dan Christian (1/19) spearheaded the fightback in the death overs after openers Prithvi Shaw (48 off 31) and Shikhar Dhawan (43 off 35) gave DC a solid foundation.
Chasing the target, RCB top-order came a cropper as well with in-form opener Devdutt Padikkal (0 off 2) and Virat Kohli (4 off 8) firing blanks.
Bharat then had a steady stand of 49 runs for the third wicket with AB de Villiers to bring up RCB fifty runs in the 10th over.
The partnership was then broken up by Axar Patel, who dismissed De Villiers at 26 (26).
This turn out to be a mere blip in the RCB chase as Bharat forged an unbeaten 63-ball 111 partnership with Glenn Maxwell (51* off 33) to turn the game around after the side needed 104 runs in the last 10 overs.
The uncapped Indian batsman took away the initial pressure with a six and a four in the first two overs, allowing Maxwell to settle down at the other end.
The Australian fired four boundaries in the next two overs to unsettle the DC bowling.
The hitting had domino effect on a star-studded bowling line-up of Delhi with as many as 50 runs conceded in the next four overs.
However, the odds suddenly favoured DC again as South African pacer Anrich Nortje produced a cheap penultimate over of four runs; giving his side 15 runs to defend in the last over.
Call it luck or sloppy effort by Risabh Pant and side as they gave away the match despite being the favourite at one stage with 7 runs to defend off 1 ball.
Pacer Avesh Khan floundered under pressure as he bowled a wide and then a full toss off the extra delivery; allowing Bharat to clear the long-on boundary for a glory six. (UNI)
