It turned out to be a cracker of a game at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi on Saturday (May 12) night. A magnificent fifty each from AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) sealed the fate of Delhi Daredevils (DD). The hosts now are officially out of the IPL while the Bangalore side still have chances to make it to the playoffs.
Chasing 182 to win, openers Parthiv Patel and Moeen Ali failed to provide the ideal start. But the reliable duo of Kohli and de Villiers did the bulk of a job once again.
The South African batter remained unbeaten on 72, smashing a six in the final over to take his side home comfortably by five wickets.
Well, the skipper of the Delhi Daredevils side Shreyas Iyer must have been disappointed with the way the game panned out.
The hosts made 181 yet lost the game. Iyer scored 32 while in-form batsman Rishabh Pant top-scored with 61 off 34. Youngster Abhishek Sharma, playing his first game, hit an impressive 46 off 19 balls.
Kohli’s charisma has been amazing. He is idolized by fans and respected by teammates. Recently, all-rounder Chris Woakes, who played alongside Kohli in the ongoing IPL, spoke highly of the skipper.
“Having to share a dressing room with him has been a great experience,” said Woakes, who is playing in his second IPL season.
“He is passionate about playing cricket for RCB and India as well. Obviously, we expect some good challenges ahead against him this summer back in England,” he added.
Middle-order batsman Mandeep Singh scored 13 off 14 balls but missed out finishing the game. After the win, he said
“Enjoyed that victory a lot. Very happy. We haven’t been able to finish close games properly, but that’s how it goes. Virat and AB made it look so easy. I found it difficult to bat, low and slow, but they made it so easy,” Mandeep maintained.
Interestingly, it was a sixth win in a row at the Kotla for RCB.
Let’s check out how the internet reacted to the impressive win:
Nothing more, nothing less! #RCBvDD #IPL pic.twitter.com/j2XjHYdID6
— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) May 12, 2018
Rishab Pant keeps yelling to Mishra, "Easy mat dena" and Mishra keeps bowling lollies to AB and Kohli.
— Shubh Aggarwal (@shubh_chintak) May 12, 2018
Rishabh Pant becomes the second Indian player to hit 30-plus sixes in an IPL season after Virat Kohli who hit 38 sixes in 2016.#ddvrcb
— Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) May 12, 2018
Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers batting together against a bowler reminds of Ajit dialogue “Raabert, is haraami ko Liquid Oxygen mein daal do. Liquid ise jeene nahin dega; Oxygen ise marne nahin dega!” #IPL #RCB
— Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) May 12, 2018
https://twitter.com/imjsk27/status/995353284561924096
Junior Dala had claimed Virat Kohli's wicket in the Centurion T20I in Feb.
So what does Virat do?
takes 15 off Dala's first over in #IPL#DDvRCB#IPL2018— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) May 12, 2018
#SandeepLAMICHHANE Not a bad 3rd over. You should have been given 3 overs straight and not let kohli and ABD settle
— Akhilesh Upadhyay (@akhileshU) May 12, 2018
Got to get me a friend who's there for me like Kohli and ABD are there for each other
— Aparigrahi (@NamitaThe) May 12, 2018
Kohli and ABD on the crease. Running intimately. Playing shots of their choice. Having fun.😁 A fairytale to watch. #DDvRCB #IPL18 #playbold
— Nikhil Patidar (@dats_nikhil) May 12, 2018
https://twitter.com/SirJadejaaaa/status/995355361363177472
Delhi strengthen their grip on the wooden spoon #DDvRCB
— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) May 12, 2018
ABD and VK won. #IPL
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) May 12, 2018
ABD sending the ball to Nepal
— Sunil The Cricketer (@1sInto2s) May 12, 2018
