Mitchell Marsh (2/18) and Kuldeep Yadav's (2/23) economical spells helped the Delhi Capitals keep the Royal Challengers from crossing 200-run mark, as the hosts ended the first innings with a competitive score of 174/6 in 20 overs, with Virat Kohli's half-century playing a crucial role in it at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
RCB skipper Faf Du Plessis and Virat Kohli gave a decent start to the home teams as the deadly duo struck 42 runs in five overs. But Mitchell Marsh broke the partnership before they could inflict more damage on Delhi Capitals. Du Plessis's fortune didn't favour him as Aman Khan took a stunning catch to dismiss the South African batter for a score of 22(16).
Virat Kohli continued scoring runs at regular intervals and Mahipal Lomror, more than once, stepped forward to avoid a dip in the run rate. Kohli tried to increase the amount of pressure on DC bowlers as he tried to clear the boundary for a six in Lalit Yadav's over. However, he fell short by a margin of inches as Yash Dhull picked up an easy catch to dismiss the inform batter for 50 (34).
Lomror soon followed Kohli back to the dugout. Mitchell Marsh found his second wicket as the ball touched the edge of the ball and went straight into the hands of Abhishek Porel. Initially, a review for stumping was taken, but the ultra-edge system revealed a faint edge before Porel took the bails off the stumps. Lomror played a short cameo of 26(18).
Glenn Maxwell and Harshal Patel tried to keep the flow of runs but Delhi Capitals spinners Kuldeep Yadav ensured DC's dominance over the hosts. Kuldeep dismissed dangerous Glenn Maxwell for 24(14) and Axar dismissed Harshal for 6(4).
Dinesh Karthik came to play the finisher's role as the first innings approached its climax. But before he could even think of making his mark on the game, his shot went straight into the hands of Lalit Yadav. Kuldeep Yadav picked up his second wicket and Karthik made his way back the pavilion for a golden duck.
At the end of 15 overs, RCB is at 134/6, with Shahbaz Ahmed (0*) and Anuj Rawat (0*) unbeaten. RCB touched the 150-run mark in 17.4 overs.
Shahbaz Ahmed 20(12)* and Anuj Rawat 15(22)* stayed until the end and took RCB's total to 174/6.
Brief Scores Royal Challenges Bangalore 174/6 (Virat Kohli 50(34), Mahipal Lomror 26(18) and Kuldeep Yadav 2/23) vs Delhi Capitals.
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