Highlights, IPL 2018, DD vs RCB at Ferozshah Kotla, Full Cricket Score: Royal Challengers Bangalore win by five wickets

Most Man of the Match awards in IPL:

20 – Chris Gayle
17 – AB DE VILLIERS*
16 – Yusuf Pathan, Rohit Sharma
15 – David Warner
14 – Dhoni, Raina

AB de Villiers is the Player of the Match

AB de Villiers: I started off slowly. Luckily, Virat was going well. I took 15 deliveries to get settled and felt better and then got my eyes in. Sandeep Lamichhane is 17 years old and he is admirable. I love these youngsters coming out and performing. Team, excellence, management and teammates are biggest motivation.

Virat Kohli, RCB captain

I think it’s a right time to get a win. Great feeling playing in front of this crowd. We should have restricted them (DD) to 160, but the chase was ideal. I think we would prefer bowling first at this stage of the tournamnet. It’s a good position to be in. We understand teams would want to stop us from winning,and that motivates the boys to do well. It is lovely batting with ABD. We wanted to step up at the right time. I didn’t like the way the innings ended but AB assured us that we are winning this. It’s an honour for me to bat with him.  We were looking to secure win with three over to spare to get the run rate up. But that’s how the game goes; couldn’t have asked for more.

Shreyas Iyer, DD captain: With the start, I thought 180 was more than enough. Unfortunately, we are just not able to defend totals. Lots of positives with the bat, but can’t execute bowling plans. Not feeling any pressure, because I am able to bat very well. But today was one of those bad days when I couldn’t connect anything. About pressure, you can’t just control it. The only thing you can do is keep scoring runs. Don’t want to take names, but I do like to talk to my coaches, so I can come back stronger in the next game. We are making 3-4 changes per game now, so it’s all about setting our team for next year. We can just smile and move on.

AB seals it in style, hammering the ball over long off to get his side over the line with an over and five wickets to spare, keeping the side’s playoff hopes still alive. 

Yet another positive batting display from DD goes in vain as the bowlers failed to restrict the RCB batting unit despite getting a couple of early wickets. With this defeat, whatever chances they had of making it to the top four at the end of the league stage would’ve evaporated.

This is RCB’s fifth consecutive win against DD in IPL. RCB have now won 12 out of 13 matches against DD since 2011 in IPL.

RCB win by five wickets! 

Trent Boult bowls length on AB de Villiers’ off-stump and the right-hander obliges with a straight six. RCB continue to live for another day.

SIX! Full toss from Boult outside off and ABD walks way outside his off stump and sends the ball over deep square leg. Go figure!

After 18 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 172/5 ( AB de Villiers 59 , Colin de Grandhomme 1)

That was a weird over from Harshal Patel. He concedes six runs via wide balls, two boundaries, and manages to get the wicket of Sarfaraz Khan, thanks to some inventive field placement by skipper Iyer. 14 came from that.

Sarfaraz must feel like a fool after hitting the ball down the throat of the fielder placed behind the stumps. It was as if DD were waiting for his ‘Dilscoop’ shot to come along. he promptly found the fielder to get caught

OUT! That’s a bizarre dismissal. Sarfaraz scoops Patel and Iyer has placed a very fine leg specifically for that shot. Prithvi Shaw takes it with a little juggle.

Sarfaraz Khan c Prithvi Shaw b Harshal Patel 11(8)

Unless Delhi get a magical over from their bowlers, AB and Sarfaraz could very well stroll their way to the finish line.  Sarfaraz already has got two boundaries in the 18th over now.

FOUR! Pitched up from Harshal Patel and Sarfaraz drives it straight.Lovely shot!

After 17 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 158/4 ( AB de Villiers 59 , Sarfaraz Khan 3)

Brilliant over this from Boult. DD’s death bowling so far has been in complete contrast to RCB’s, but Kohli-ABD alliance has all but won it for the visitors. Boult concedes just five ruins and takes out Mandeep Singh. Sarfaraz Khan has played very sporadically this season and hasn’t been in touch. Maybe DD can make things interesting?

RCB have a habit of making things tough on themselves. Mandeep played across the line to a straight, pitched up delivery from Boult to give DD a toe-hold in teh match. When will RCB batsmen learn to finish it when they are on top. Guess they are the generous sort

Players to bowl 1000-plus dot balls in IPL:

Harbhajan Singh
Praveen Kumar
Lasith Malinga
Piyush Chawla
AMIT MISHRA

OUT! Mandeep has missed a straight ball from Boult. Went for an across the line swipe off this good length ball, misses, and his stumps are shattered.

Mandeep b Boult 13(14)

After 16 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 153/3 ( AB de Villiers 57 , Mandeep Singh 13)

Amit Mishra continues.He has bowled well, but his flighted balls have also been sent into stands by ABD and Kohli. With Kohli gone, he looks to be bowling with more freedom, also throwing in the odd googly in between.Just six from this over. RCB need 29 runs off 24 balls.

After 15 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 147/3 ( AB de Villiers 54 , Mandeep Singh 10)

Junior Dala returns. His first two overs have been taken for runs, and it doesn’t change in this over. His short ball has been sent over the fine leg fence by Mandeep, but Dala comes back nicely after that.Just two more runs means it’s an eight-run over. RCB are on course.

SIX! Wonderful pick-up shot this from Mandeep. Dala digs in short and Mandeep shows his class with a pull over fine leg.

After 14 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 139/3 ( AB de Villiers 54 , Mandeep Singh 2)

Good over from Mishra. Just seven runs and the big wicket of Kohli with a traditional leg-break. RCB need just 43 from last 6 overs now,and one has to say, the wicket has come a bit too late. A 70-ball 40 on the ground he grew up playing cricket is a top effort from the RCB captain.

Kohli and ABD were starting to toy around with the bowlers, when Mishra pulled things back in his team’s favour by getting rid of the opposition captain, getting some extra turn on the occasion. RCB are still going strong with the RRR very much under control. Just a glimmer of hope for DD after that wicket now.

Kohli’s brilliant 70 from 40 deliveries comes to an end. A feather snick off a wide ball from Amit Mishra to be caught behind. But Kohli and ABD have put RCB very much in the contest with their lovely huge partnership. RCB need to just close it.

After 13 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 132/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 66 , AB de Villiers 53)

Harshal Patel gives away 19 in this over as ABD decides to join the fun. A six and two fours mean Patel continues to have a bad match.

OUT! Kohli’s gone! He hit a four the previous ball but Amit Mishra comes back strongly next ball. It’s a loopy leg break and Kohli goes for the drive and edges. What an innings, nevertheless!

Kohli c Pant b Mishra 70(40)

FIFTY!  AB de Villiers lofts this from Patel over long on. That’s exhilarating strokeplay.

Most century stands in IPL:

9 – Chris Gayle/AB de Villiers
8 – Virat Kohli/AB de Villiers*
6 – David Warner/Shikhar Dhawan

Superb 3rd wicket stand of over 100 unbeaten runs by Kohli and ABD.  Both have been playing brilliant strokes on either side of the wicket and running between the wickets superbly. They have the DD attack on its knees

SIX! Full and slanting into Kohli from Patel and RCB skipper’s mighty wrists ensure the long-on fence is rendered redundant.

After 12 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 113/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 59 , AB de Villiers 41)

Lamichhane’s here for his fourth over. He has had a good debut so far, and despite the top-edged six he concedes to ABD in this over, it has been a fine first match from this youngster. Just 25 from his 4 overs.

SIX! That’s a top-edge from ABD but it has sailed over the deep fielder for the maximum. Nicely tossed up from Lamichhane and ABD sweeps with lot of power.

After 11 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 103/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 57 , AB de Villiers 33)

Here’s Harshal Patel for his second over. Starts with two dots before Kohli gets ABD on strike. His response? He walks across and scoops Patel over the wicketkeeper for a boundary. Still, an eight-run over is a fairly decent one. RCB though are in driver’s seat.

FOUR! Harshal Patel pitches this full on AB de Villiers’ off-stump and he moves across to scoop it for four.

At the first timeout of the Delhi innings, it is advantage RCB, with two well-set batsmen at the crease, one of them bringing up a half-century. Junior Dala, the third debutant of the day for DD, has had a forgettable outing so far by leaking 26 runs off two overs.

After 10 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 95/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 54 , AB de Villiers 28)

Mishra continues.He bowled well in his opening over. Starts with a tossed-up leg-break and Kohli drives it for a single. Goes fuller and straighter next ball, which means ABD turns him to leg side for a single. And as was the case in his previous over, the tossed up deliveries pose the threat of being sent out of the park, and that’s what ABD does. Mishra concedes 10 again.

After 9 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 85/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 52 , AB de Villiers 21)

Junior Dala returns. His first over was taken apart by Kohli, and he delivers a poor leg-side ball to the RCB skipper that is helped on its way to the fence. That shot also brought up Kohli’s fifty. Not a single fall stroke tonight from him. Iyer needs to do something special to get his opposite number.

Virat Kohli became the second Indian batsman to hit 700 fours in T20 cricket after Gautam Gambhir when he hit the first four today.

Kohli is on song. Superb strokeplay in getting to his 50 in just 26 deliveries. Good substantial partnership building between him and ABD

FIFTY! Kohli flicks this leg side ball from Dala fine for four and races to his 50 off just 26 balls. Like always, a classy affair.

After 8 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 76/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 44 , AB de Villiers 20)

Amit Mishra comes into the attack. would be an interesting duel with Kohli; the two play for same state besides turning out in national colours. The senior leggie looks to have found his spots early, conceding singles on each of first four balls. Needs to prevent a boundary now…or what! AB De Villiers notices some air and wallops it straight over the bowler’s head for a six. That makes it ten off the owner. It’s a cruel game.

SIX! Some air from Amit Mishra and AB de Villiers hits him straight. Lovely, clean strokeplay.

Lamichhane continues to impress. He is not afraid to give some air to the ball, and does possess a good googly. Starts with a boundary though, as Kohli drills a trademark cover drive to a pitched-up ball. Four more singles come in the over and RCB are in the hunt.

After 7 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 66/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 42 , AB de Villiers 12)

Lamichhane continues to impress. He is not afraid to give some air to the ball, and does possess a good googly. Starts with a boundary though, as Kohli drills a trademark cover drive to a pitched-up ball. Four more singles come in the over and RCB are in the hunt.

FOUR! Nicely tossed up by Lamichhane and Kohli brings out the trademark cover drive. He is batting beautifully tonight.

After 6 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 58/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 36 , AB de Villiers 10)

Boult into his second over, which turns out to be in complete contrast to his tidy first over. Kohli lays into him with a beautiful six over extra cover and then ABD collects four off a short ball. A 13-run over means RCB gallop to 58 in first six overs.

Now we have a streaker breaking his way through the security, and running towards Kohli, prostrating before the Indian captain and local lad. The Delhi police officials on duty promptly whisk him away. Looks like he got some rough treatment after being dragged out of the park, with a crowd gathering around the centre of attention. 

Meanwhile, Kohli and AB have formed a valuable partnership, worth 40 at the end of powerplay, with the run-rate nearly 10-an-over at the moment.

Virat Kohli becomes the second player to score 700-plus runs against two different opponents in IPL (v CSK and v DD). The other player is Suresh Raina (v MI & v KKR).

SIX! That’s unreal from Kohli! What timing! Boult comes around the wicket to block width but Kohli holds his shape and times it over extra cover. Wow.

After 5 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 45/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 28 , AB de Villiers 5)

Harshal Patel is in. Starts with two dots to ABD, who is yet to get his timing going. One gets a feeling he is trying to hit too hard. Those are the only dots he balls in the over as ABD gets his timing on the third ball. Some width from Patel and the South African dispatches it through covers. He goes full to Kohli who makes room and places him over mid-off for another four. 10 from the over.

FOUR! Kohli this time. Makes room for this full ball from Patel and places him over mid-off. Does it with incredible ease, does Kohli.

FOUR! Off the backfoot by AB de Villiers. Some width from Harshal Patel and the South African is up to it.

Kohli dazzles with super shots against Dala.The pick up shots to mid-wicket where his bottom hand dominates were brilliant

Bet you too agree?

Moment of the @IPL for Nepal. @IamSandeep25 picks up his first wicket. Well bowled young man. @DelhiDaredevils

— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) May 12, 2018

After 4 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 35/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 23 , AB de Villiers 0)

Junior Dala’s first over of IPL 2018 has been taken for 17 runs, a fair majority of which came off Kohli’s bat. Two fours and a six by the RCB skipper there. He looks in good touch there.

Just 10 deliveries is all that it takes for debutant Sandip Lamichchane to collect his first IPL wicket. DD have got the early wickets to grab the advantage, though they now face the real test with Kohli and AB, both of whom enjoy support across venues in the country regardless of the side they play for, at the crease.

FOUR! Dala goes full and Kohli makes room and places it through covers. Wow!

AB de Villiers vs DD in IPL:

Innings – 8
Runs – 324 
Average – 64.80
SR – 170.53

Sandeep Lamichhane becomes the second youngest overseas player (17y 283d) to take a wicket in IPL. Mujeeb Zadran is the youngest to achieve the feat

Massive wickets for DD. Moeen Ali & Parthiv. Parthic played across the line yet again to fall leg before. Onus now on RCB’s main batsmen Kohli and ABD

SIX! What a shot! The typical Kohli wristy flick that goes all the way over long-on. Junior Dala, the bowler.

FOUR! Junior Dala’s second ball of IPL 2018 has been pulled imperiously over mid-wicket by Kohli.

After 3 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 18/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 7 , AB de Villiers 0)

What an over from Lamichhane. Gets his maiden IPL wicket, and beats AB de Villiers with a wrong ‘un first ball. He looks promising so far; didn’t get rattled by the boundary that he conceded first ball.

OUT! And gone next ball! 17-year-old Sandep Lamichhane from Nepal has had his first IPL wicket. Nice and full and Parthiv misses the slog sweep. 

Parthiv Patel lbw b Lamichhane 6(8)

FOUR! Goes full to Parthiv does Lamichhane who smokes it over the bowler’s head for a boundary.

After 2 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 13/1 ( Parthiv Patel (W) 2 , Virat Kohli (C) 6)

Good over this from Trent Boult. Gets rid of Moeen Ali and draws an edge from Kohli that goes for four. DD would look at their senior bowler to keep up the intensity. Just seven runs there.

FOUR! Virat Kohli gets his first boundary with an edge off Boult. It would have gone to second slip but Kohli didn’t look too out of control with that.

Virat Kohli holds the record of scoring most runs against DD in IPL. He has amassed 691 runs at an average of 69.10 against them in IPL.

OUT! Moeen Ali departs. Leading edge goes up and Prithvi Shaw takes that. Trent Boult the bowler.

Moeen Ali c Prithvi Shaw b Boult 1(3)

After 1 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 6/0 ( Parthiv Patel (W) 1 , Moeen Ali 1)

Some churn in RCB’s top order. Moeen Ali walks out with Quinton de Kock. 17-year leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane will start DD’s proceedings. He is the first player from Nepal to play in the IPL. Drops first ball short and Parthiv pulls it for a single. Looks to have found his line straightaway.Just six from the over.

Moeen Ali’s Strike Rate as an opener in T20 cricket is 142.64 which is more than his overall career T20 strike rate of 128.91.

46* by Abhishek Sharma today is the highest by a player having an age less than 18 in IPL, going past Sarfraz Khan’s 45* runs playing for RCB against RR at Bangalore in 2015.

That Delhi managed to breach the 180-run mark for the second game running has to be credited to the nerveless display by debutant Abhishek Sharma, the latest from Rahul Dravid’s U-19 batch of 2018 to make it count on the bigger stage. 

However, Kohli had asserted at the toss that Kotla isn’t exactly a ground for defending scores with dew being a factor in the second innings. It turned out to be the case in the 9-wicket loss to SRH, and could very well be the result this evening unless Delhi keep the RCB top order quiet.

So death bowling has once again returned to haunt RCB. It’s one area they really need to address, and one thinks it’s already too late for them. Pant’s fall elicited some hopes for RCB revival, and a couple of quiet overs did give credence to that thought. But 17-year-old Abhishek Sharma walked out like a breath of fresh air that soon turned into a storm. Is it strong enough to blow RCB away? We’ll find out soon.

DD today:

First 13 overs: 109/3 (RR – 8.38)
Next seven overs: 72/1 (RR – 10.29)

Abhishek Sharma has give Delhi a challenging total of 181 for 4 with his cameo. Once again RCB have given away too many runs at the death, with their fielding collapsing at key moments. Would be a tough chase but RCB have the batting.

After 20 overs,Delhi Daredevils 181/4 ( Vijay Shankar 21 , Abhishek Sharma 46)

13-run over this from Siraj, who concedes a six and a four to Abhishek, whose enterprising 19-ball 46 has taken DD to 181/4. Abhishek has been really impressive tonight, and RCB’s last five overs have been plundered for 61 runs.

FOUR! Siraj goes straight and Abhishek powers this one straight. Beats ABD and Kohli, that’s something!

SIX! Siraj’s slower ball has been picked well by Abhishek and he deposits this over long off.

After 19 overs,Delhi Daredevils 168/4 ( Vijay Shankar 19 , Abhishek Sharma 35)

Good comeback from Southee. Mixed his lengths and changed his pace nicely. Just seven runs from that over.

RCB had DD’s innings under control. But Siraj  dropping the catch seems to have opened the floodgates. Suddenly the last two overs –17 & 18 –have yielded 36 runs to hand over the advantage to Delhi

After 18 overs,Delhi Daredevils 161/4 ( Vijay Shankar 16 , Abhishek Sharma 32)

Another expensive over, this time from Siraj. A six from Abhishek and a boundary by Shankar ensure its a 14-run over. No end to RCB’s end-over woes.

The youngsters continue to shine in the DD camp, and now its young Abhishek Sharma who displays his power-hitting skills. The two sixes off Southee’s bowling would’ve done his confidence a world of good.

Abhishek Sharma is the fifth youngest Indian player (17y 250d) to make a debut in IPL.

FOUR! Siraj goes straight and full and Shankar goes slightly inside the line to flick it past fine leg.

Siraj goofed up big time while fielding and dropping Abhishek Sharma. RCB might still have to pay a heavy price for it. Siraj is one of the big problems with the team’s fielding. He simply has not put in the hard hours on it and it shows — match after match.

SIX! Wow…that’s some batting from Abhishek. Short from Siraj and the left-hander uses the width to bring out the ramp shot.

After 17 overs,Delhi Daredevils 147/4 ( Vijay Shankar 10 , Abhishek Sharma 24)

Southee returns. His first two overs yielded just 12, and this one goes for 22. Two beautiful sixes and a lucky four from Abhishek sharma doing all the damage.

SIX! And again. Back-to-back sixes from Abhishek. Southee goes short and the young man pulls him into stands.

SIX! Shot of the match so far. Full and straight from Southee and Abhishek drives him straight over his head with lots of elegance. High elbow.

FOUR! Lucky boundary for Abhishek. He went hard at the sight of width from Southee and Siraj misjudges a simple chance.

RCB have pulled back very well after Pant and Shreyas had that excellent partnership. They have put a check on the scoring rate pretty well. If the fielding holds at the death they’d have done very well

After 16 overs,Delhi Daredevils 125/4 ( Vijay Shankar 9 , Abhishek Sharma 4)

Siraj to begin death overs. These last four overs have been RCB’s bane,let’s see what they do tonight. They start alright by the way, as Siraj gets Iyer first ball. The DD skipper was strangely scratchy, and the only shot he timed well goes straight to Virat Kohli in the deep. Abhishek Sharma, the new batsman, starts his IPL career with a four first ball and survives a tough caught-and-bowled two balls later. An eventful over that goes in RCB’s favour.

FOUR! Half volley from Siraj and U-19 World Cup-winner Abhishek Sharma casually lofts him over mid off.

Just to give you an idea of the support that the RCB boys are getting here at Kotla: There were shouts of “AB! AB!” (Something De Villiers must be used to in India by now), while Mohinder Amarnath stand erupted after Kohli, fielding at deep midwicket in front of them, took the catch to dismiss Iyer. Two wickets, and RCB find themselves back in control with two relatively new faces at the crease.

Shreyas Iyer’s strike rate of 91.43 in today’s match – his lowest in an IPL match. (Min.20 balls faced)

OUT! Iyer’s gone! He times that Siraj ball sweetly, perhaps too well as it carries straight to Kohli at deep midwicket. 

Shreyas Iyer c Kohli b Siraj 32(35)

After 15 overs,Delhi Daredevils 120/3 ( Shreyas Iyer (C) 32 , Vijay Shankar 8)

Umesh returns. He has got two overs now. Starts well but the short ball is glanced by Shankar to fine leg fence. That apart, this has been a good over. RCB pulling things back nicely here.

FOUR! Short from Umesh and into Vijay Shankar’s ribs, who glances it nicely to fine leg fence.

After 14 overs,Delhi Daredevils 113/3 ( Shreyas Iyer (C) 30 , Vijay Shankar 3)

Excellent over from Chahal. With Pant gone, RCB can look to sneak in a few quiet overs, and that’s precisely what the leggie has done with this four-run over.

After 13 overs,Delhi Daredevils 109/3 ( Shreyas Iyer (C) 29 , Vijay Shankar 0)

Excellent over this from Moeen. He has bowled well all through, and finally gets his reward. Gets the big fish, Rishabh Pant, to a brilliant catch at the boundary, and one would say that RCB are very much in the game.

The partnership has been broken after all, and it is ABD who makes up for the dropped catch earlier by pulling off a stunner at long on. Pant may not have got a century today, but he certainly has given Delhi the platform from where they can launch themselves towards a total in excess of 180.

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.

Brilliant stuff from Moeen Ali. He did not only stop the flow of runs from one end but also picked the all-important wicket of Rishabh Pant. 

OUT! That’s a big wicket. Pant has fallen to an excellent sliding catch from AB de Villiers.

 Pant c de Villiers b Moeen Ali 61(34)

After 12 overs,Delhi Daredevils 101/2 ( Shreyas Iyer (C) 27 , Rishabh Pant (W) 56)

Chahal comes along, and has been taken for a six and a four off consecutive balls by Pant. What a half-century this from the young man. Chahal concedes 14 there, and RCB must now get rid of Pant soon. He looks like running away with the game here.

FIFTY! What an innings this from young Pant. Chahal follows the full ball that went for a six with a short one on his legs, who pulls it behind square for four. Gets to his second consecutive fifty. He is in some serious form.

Rishabh Pant becomes the first player to score 1000-plus runs in T20 cricket in 2018.

SIX! Width and flight from Chahal and Pant launches him high and straight. He is entering the zone!

After 11 overs,Delhi Daredevils 87/2 ( Shreyas Iyer (C) 26 , Rishabh Pant (W) 43)

Moeen Ali’s first ball is sent back over the cow corner by Rishabh Pant; he does love that region. The off-spinner comes back nicely, and concedes just three more singles thereafter.

DD don’t bat deep. But Pant has been very consistent and Shreyas not far behind. RCB must take their catches or these two will take the match away.

Rishabh Pant now holds the record of scoring most runs for DD in an IPL season, going past Gautam Gambhir’s tally of 534 runs which he made in the inaugral season of IPL while playing for DD.

SIX! Some flight from Moeen and Pant gets underneath it with a slog sweep. He is a powerful boy.

Has been a fine recovery for DD after the early wickets, with Pant and Iyer stitching a fine partnership in excess of fifty, the former playing the aggressor. In such situations, every opportunity to break the partnership counts, and the dropped chance of Iyer by AB could very well turn out to be an expensive drop after all.

After 10 overs,Delhi Daredevils 78/2 ( Shreyas Iyer (C) 25 , Rishabh Pant (W) 35)

What an eventful over this from Colin de Grandhomme. He concedes a boundary on first and last balls to Iyer via late cuts but in between, he could have the DD skipper twice. First Siraj was late to respond to a skier at long-on and next AB de Villiers fails to judge a chance. Phew! Iyer needs to make these chances count.

FOUR! Colin de Grandhomme is welcomed to the crease with a late cut by Iyer. Beats the short third-man with ease.

After 9 overs,Delhi Daredevils 66/2 ( Shreyas Iyer (C) 15 , Rishabh Pant (W) 33)

Tidy over from Moeen Ali here. He bowled four balls to Iyer, who managed just two singles there. The DD skipper has not looked at his best so far; something that RCB should exploit.

Rishabh Pant is now the leading run-scorer in IPL – 11, going past KL Rahul’s tally of 537 runs. He also now holds the record of hitting most sixes in this IPL, eclipsing MS Dhoni who has hit 27 sixes so far in the tournament.

After 8 overs,Delhi Daredevils 62/2 ( Shreyas Iyer (C) 13 , Rishabh Pant (W) 31)

Siraj comes in. Full and straight to Iyer first one, who defends back. Goes too straight next ball and Iyer takes a single to leg side.But here’s the real show! Drops short of length to Pant who picks this early and pulls it way back in stands. Siraj overcompensates next ball and Pant sends it soaring over bowler’s head. 14 from that over.

SIX! Siraj goes full next ball and Pant hits it over the bowler’s head. Lovely strike. He is on fire, Pant.

SIX! Pant picks that back of length ball from Siraj early and sends it many, many rows back with a pull shot.

Rishabh Pant’s last three innings against RCB read – 57, 45 and 85. He has got off to a good start today again.

After 7 overs,Delhi Daredevils 48/2 ( Shreyas Iyer (C) 12 , Rishabh Pant (W) 18)

Moeen Ali comes in. Pretty tidy start from the off-spinner.Pant belted the second ball to cover where Kohli dived full length to prevent a run. Just four from his six balls.

After 6 overs,Delhi Daredevils 44/2 ( Shreyas Iyer (C) 10 , Rishabh Pant (W) 17)

Here’s Southee. Tidy over this from him, concedes just 5. Iyer was itching to break free but failed to get the right connection. They can’t be reckless. Powerplay has yielded 44 runs for DD at the cost of 2 wickets.

Rishabh Pant sure seems to have continued from where he left off two days ago, hitting the ball well so far to collect three boundaries for himself. The two early wickets by Chahal could very well be nullified if he gets going.

After 5 overs,Delhi Daredevils 39/2 ( Shreyas Iyer (C) 6 , Rishabh Pant (W) 16)

Umesh returns, and Pant takes him for couple of boundaries. Could have been three fours had one not been saved by a mid-air Mandeep Singh. But he has looked in ominous touch, does Pant. His drives have carried lot of power and his pull shots have found the gaps.

FOUR! Umesh goes outside off and back of length, just enough width for Pant to open his arms, and boy, are they powerful. Didn’t bother hitting along the ground, Pant.

FOUR! Short from Umesh and Pant powers a pull in front of square. Lots of power in that shot.

After 4 overs,Delhi Daredevils 28/2 ( Shreyas Iyer (C) 5 , Rishabh Pant (W) 7)

Tim Southee is introduced into the attack.They go up in appeal against Pant first ball for caught-behind but that didn’t touch his bat. Pant responds with a four next ball! They will be wary of this left-hander. Southee is looking to mix his short balls with pitched-up slower ones. Let’s see if this works.

Chahal has opened up the Delhi top order with two gem of deliveries. The openers probably did not expect to counter a leg spinner first thing in the match and were unsure whether to defend or go for it

FOUR! Tim Southee drops short on Pant’s middle and leg stump and the left-hander pulls it. Perfectly in control.

Rishabh Pant’s last four innings in IPL:

128*, 18, 69, 79

He has come early today as DD have lost both the openers inside three overs. Can he deliver for DD again tonight?

After 3 overs,Delhi Daredevils 21/2 ( Shreyas Iyer (C) 5 , Rishabh Pant (W) 1)

Chahal delivers another excellent over. That’s two wickets in his two overs; he gets rid of Jason Roy with a flighted googly to bowl the right-hander. Rishabh Pant, who scored a ton the other night. He concedes a boundary to Shreyas Iyer on the last ball but that’s still a very impressive over from Chahal.

OUT! What bowling this from Chahal! Lovely loopy wrong ‘un that goes through the gate. Jason Roy is gone and DD are in trouble.

Jason Roy b Chahal 12(9)

The ploy to start with spin against Prithvi works for RCB, as they gain the early advantage. Looks like Kohli and Co did learn a thing or two from Williamson’s decision to bring Shakib in early

After 2 overs,Delhi Daredevils 15/1 ( Jason Roy 12 , Shreyas Iyer (C) 0)

Umesh Yadav comes in for the second over. He has bowled well in Powerplay so far, but what’s happened here? He drops a loosener and Roy sends it deep in Kotla crowd for a six. He goes full on the fourth ball and Roy drives him past covers for a boundary. 11 from the over.

Even as Kohli’s favorite cricketer Sarfaraz misfielded twice in first over, in-form Prithvi Shaw was bowled playing across the line to leg spinner Chahal. Prithvi tried to play the ball towards Sarfaraz at short midwicket for a single. He played across and was bowled

FOUR! Full and on off stump from Umesh and Roy unleashes a lovely cover drive.

SIX! Short of length on off-stump from Umesh Yadav and Jason Roy pulls it over the cow corner. Lovely, clean strike.

After 1 overs,Delhi Daredevils 4/1 ( Jason Roy 2 , Shreyas Iyer (C) 0)

Brilliant start from Yuzvendra Chahal. Begins the proceedings against Prithvi Shaw and gets him on the last ball of the over with a straighter one. RCB couldn’t have asked for more.

Prithvi Shaw in IPL at Delhi:

22, 62, 47, 9

He has given some good starts to DD since his debut. Can he maintain the consistency?

OUT! What a start from Chahal! Foxes Prithvi with a straighter one that rattles into his stumps.

Prithvi Shaw b Chahal 2(4)

A loud cheer went up at the Kotla earlier this evening when Kohli’s name was announced by the DJ. The loudest of them all, with ABD’s name being met with similar cheers as well. Decent support for the visiting side today.

RCB Playing XI

Parthiv Patel(w), Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Moeen Ali, Sarfaraz Khan, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

RCB have won 12 out 13 matches against DD since 2011 in IPL.

Sandeep Lamichhane becomes the first Nepal player to make a debut in IPL.

DD Playing XI

Prithvi Shaw, Jason Roy, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Vijay Shankar, Harshal Patel, Abhishek Sharma, Amit Mishra, Sandeep Lamichhane, Junior Dala, Trent Boult

DD skipper Shreyas Iyer:

“We have got three games left and we will look to enjoy. We will look to express ourselves.”

Here’s what Virat Kohli has to say on pitch

“The pitch is going to stay the same. It’s a hard ground to defend. There is the dew factor as well. Having seen the last game here against SRH, we decided to field first.”

DD v RCB in IPL:

Matches played – 20

DD won – 6

RCB won – 13

Toss Time

Virat Kohli has called correctly and RCB have elected to field first in the must-win game against hosts Delhi Daredevils.

It would be interesting to see if RCB go with Parthiv or Quinton de Kock. The latter is a far superior keeper and will be deployed only if RCB’s batsmen feel confident of their prowess. Or they could drop Manan or Mandeep for Parthiv. Umesh, Southee and Siraj have done well with the ball. Washington Sundar has been the disappointment, but his selection to the Indian team would have done his confidence good.

RCB’s power hitters, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, are the key for a good total. They’d need that to keep DD’s young guns at bay. RCB have bowled well of late but fielding has been pedestrian.

Do or die battle for RCB. They desperately need to win today to stay in the contest. Considering the towering talent they have, especially in the batting section, it is a shame they are at the bottom of the table, just above DD. A win will do wonders for the spirits of their terrific support base. The sad, indigestible part is some of the defeats were last gasp ones that could so easily have gone RCB’s way.

Hello and welcome to _Firstpost’_s LIVE coverage of IPL 2018 match between hosts Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Chances of both teams hand by the thread, which makes this clash between bottom-placed sides a very important affair.