Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar Destroy Delhi Capitals - eight for six in 3.5 overs. Delhi Capitals walked out at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday night, on the same ground where they had put up 264 just days before, and lost six wickets before most fans had finished queuing for drinks.
Anyone watching cricket betting markets saw in-play odds flip inside the first three overs, and by the time RCB came out to bat there was nothing left to chase. The full scorecard from ESPNcricinfo barely seems real.
How the Powerplay Became a Demolition
Second ball of the match and Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled a yorker that cleaned up Sahil Parakh, an 18-year-old on debut who had no time to settle. Hazlewood got KL Rahul first ball of the second over with a short one that hurried through, then Sameer Rizvi edged the next delivery to slip off a length you would expect in a Test match. Two for three. Then Bhuvneshwar came back and it got worse. Stubbs poked at outswing and found first slip, Axar Patel edged behind, and Hazlewood bounced Nitish Rana into a top edge that someone at mid-on held onto. Eight for six, the ground silent, and the powerplay still had two overs left. Even RCB couldn't quite process what was happening; Tim David was caught on camera covering his face on the boundary.
DC finished those two overs at 13 for 6, the lowest powerplay score anyone has posted in a full IPL game. The previous mark, Rajasthan Royals at 14 for 2 against the same opponents in Cape Town, had stood for seventeen years.
|
Bowler |
Overs |
Runs |
Wickets |
|
Bhuvneshwar Kumar |
4 |
5 |
3 |
|
Josh Hazlewood |
4 |
12 |
4 |
|
Rasikh Dar |
4 |
22 |
2 |
Abhishek Porel's Lone Resistance
DC had to call Abhishek Porel in as impact substitute after 2.4 overs, before the first drinks break, before the pitch had done anything unusual, before anyone had a chance to adjust. A brief dust storm forced a stoppage shortly after he came in, which gave DC something close to a regroup window. Porel and David Miller put together 35 runs and for a few overs it looked like the innings might at least survive until the halfway mark. Rasikh Dar got Miller in the ninth over and the tail gave Porel nothing to work with. He finished on 30 off 33, the only batter to reach double figures. All out for 75. 
RCB Finished the Chase Before Most Viewers Sat Down
Devdutt Padikkal didn't wait for an introduction. He was at 22 off 8 by the end of the powerplay, swinging through anything that drifted into his arc, and finished unbeaten on 34 off 13. Jacob Bethell, in for the still-injured Phil Salt, ran to 20 off 11 before T Natarajan ran back from mid-on to hold a sharp catch off Will Jamieson. Then Kohli walked out and delivered the milestone the night had been waiting for. Back-to-back sixes off Natarajan in the same over, the second one carrying him past 9000 IPL runs, the first player ever to reach the mark. Twenty-three off 15, and the chase was effectively done by the end of his first over at the crease. Total chase time, 6.3 overs. Nine wickets in hand, 81 balls to spare.
Hazlewood said afterwards he had been following Bhuvneshwar's lead, that the pitch was skidding on from a short-of-a-length and the hard ball was doing enough. Patidar called the surface behaviour surprising. Axar Patel did not say much. "Tonight was a bad day," and that was about it.
What the Result Does to DC's Playoff Odds
Three wins from eight and an NRR of -1.060. DC need to win every one of their last six matches to guarantee a top-four spot at 18 points, and even then the tiebreaker math does not favor them. The nine-wicket margin tore an extra hole in the net run rate column, leaving DC defending equity in a metric that does not reset between now and the playoff cut. Betting markets that had DC as a live playoff contender on Saturday afternoon moved sharply the other way by Monday night.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's Purple Cap Push
Sunday put Bhuvneshwar on top of the Purple Cap standings, 15 wickets at an economy of 7.25 from eight matches, with Trent Boult and Mohammed Shami sitting behind him. RCB move to third in the table with five wins from eight and an NRR that got a serious push from Sunday's margin. Punjab Kings are still unbeaten at 6-0-1.
