Royal Challengers Bangalore picked up a very crucial win over the table toppers Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi to keep their hopes alive of qualifying for the play-offs alive. The win now has put them at level with Chennai Super Kings and Bangalore is below them only by the virtue of run-rate. But the good thing is that they have a game in hand and are currently at the fifth position.

RCB knowing the importance of the match put up a brilliant performance with the bat courtesy a 204 runs partnership between Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli. They set a target of 215 and Delhi batted well in their pursuit but eventually lost by 21 runs.

Here are the hits and flops of the match:

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Hits:

Chris Gayle: He started off slow but the turned the tide in just a couple of overs. Gayle scored a century, his third in the IPL and what a way to bring it. He hit 13 sixes in the match along with seven fours and he reached his century in just 53 deliveries. He unbeaten 128 of 62 deliveries has now taken him way ahead in the race of highest run getters and in all likelihood would the purple cap this year too.

Virat Kohli: Kohli had been in inconsistent form, but did perform on a day when it mattered the most. The local boy who learnt his cricket on this ground made sure to make the most of the conditions known to him very well and smashed an unbeaten 73 off just 53 deliveries. His knock was laced with nine fours and a six.

Flops:

Muttiah Muralitharan: The most experienced bowler in the RCB team was taken to the cleaners by the Delhi batsmen. He gave away 44 runs in his quota of four overs and took just one wicket.

Delhi Daredevils:

Hits:

Ross Taylor: The New Zealand skipper was completely off form in this year’s tournament and Delhi would have desperately wanted him to fire. And he did finally rise to the occasion and scored a 55 of just 27 deliveries laced with seven fours and two sixes. He kept Delhi in the hunt and had he stayed a different outcome of the match could have been possible.

Andre Russell: He batted for the first time in the tournament and he did not fail to impress. He scored 31 of just 15 deliveries which included three sixes and a four.

Flops:

Bowling department: The bowling attack without Morne Morkel was looking like headless chickens. They were carted all over by the duo of Gayle and Kohli and none of the bowlers ended with economy rate less than nine in the match




By India Sports News Network