Having kept the wickets for 20 overs as Delhi Capitals won the toss and asked Royal Challengers Bengaluru to bat first, KL Rahul got a chance to study the wicket properly and understand its behaviour.
So, when Delhi Capitals slumped to 58/4 as they chased a modest target of 164, Rahul played patiently, built up his innings, and scored an unbeaten half-century to help Delhi Capitals beat RCB by six wickets on Thursday night.
It was a slightly tricky wicket but what helped me was being behind the stumps for 20 overs, watching how the wicket played. The ball sat in the wicket but it was consistent throughout, it was one-paced. I knew what my shots were, wanted to get off to a good start, and then assessed it accordingly. It depends on the conditions and the ground and the dimensions.
Rahul, who hails from Bengaluru and has virtually grown up at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, scored an unbeaten 93 off 53 balls, his second successive half-century, hitting seven fours and six maximums.
"On a wicket like this, I knew what my pockets were. If I wanted to hit a big six, I knew what pockets to target, and keeping gave me a feeler for where other batters were dismissed and where they hit the sixes. Got lucky with the dropped catch. This is my ground, my home, know this (ground) better than anyone else. Something I have always done with my preparation is that I always try to adapt to different wickets (even in practice)," said Rahul.
He shared a 111-run partnership with Tristan Stubbs (38 not out) as they took Delhi Capitals from 58/4 to 169/4, sealing a fourth successive victory for Delhi Capitals, maintaining their unbeaten run in the event. They now top the table with eight points, the same as Gujarat Titans who have played an match extra.
RCB openers Phil Salt and Virat Kohli had started in blazing fashion, storming to fifty in the third over, setting a record for the fastest team fifty ever in the history of the IPL. Most of the initial runs were scored by Salt (37) but RCB landed into trouble once the English opener was run out.
They suffered a huge collapse and from 53 in the first three overs, lost seven wickets for 76 runs they slumped to 125/7. Tim David hammered a 20-ball 37, unleashing a flurry of big shots in the final two over the innings as RCB managed a respectable 163/7.
RCB captain Rajat Patidar said slumping from 80/0 to 90/4 at the start of their innings was unacceptable.
"The way we have seen the wicket earlier, it was quite different. We thought it would be a nice batting track. We have not batted well. Batters are in a good frame of mind, they have shown nice intent. 80 for one, and then 90 for four, that is not acceptable (on this track). We were lacking in assessing the conditions and the situation," said Patidar.
Patidar praised Tim David for his unbeaten 37 not out as the only positive for his team in this match.
"The way David accelerated at the end, was really amazing. The power-play, the way the fast bowlers bowled, it was really special. (On their next game away to Jaipur) We are not keeping things in our mind that we have a good away record. The simple thing is that we have to play good cricket," said Patidar as RCB lost their second match at home this season. They have now won three games from five and will be hoping to regroup in their next match.
Brief Scores: Royal Challengers Bengaluru 163/7 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 37, Tim David 37 not out; Vipraj Nigam 2-18, Kuldeep Yadav 2-17) lost to Delhi Capitals 169/4 in 17.5 overs (K.L Rahul 93 not out, Tristan Stubbs 38 not out; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2-26) by six wickets
