Delhi Capitals (DC) defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by six wickets on Monday, but both teams joined reigning champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in the playoffs of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
RCB’s final spot on the points table will, however, be decided after Tuesday’s match between SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) and MI. If SRH, who are on 12 points, win, RCB will finish fourth. But if MI win, RCB will finish third and Kolkata Knight Riders will finish fourth.
As for DC, Monday’s win guarantees them two shots at entering the final, the first of which will be against Mumbai in Qualifier 1 on Thursday in Dubai. RCB have qualified for the Eliminator, to be played on Friday in Abu Dhabi.
In the penultimate match of the league phase on Monday, RCB qualified for the playoffs as they extended DC innings till the 19th over and maintained their net run rate above that of KKR.
The fourth and final team is, however, yet not identified.
On Monday, RCB asked to bat, scored 152 for seven wickets in 20 overs, and DC made 154 for four wickets in 19 overs.
The Shreyas Iyer-led DC rode half-centuries by Shikhar Dhawan (54 off 41 balls) and Ajinkya Rahane (60 off 46) to hunt down the target.
Chasing the target, DC received an early jolt when Mohammad Siraj castled opener Prithvi Shaw (9) in the second over.
Dhawan was then joined by Rahane and the duo bought their vast experience into play, forging a crucial 88-run partnership for the second wicket as DC touched the three-digit mark in 12.1 overs.
DC suffered a mini-collapse midway as they lost three wickets — Dhawan, Iyer (7), and Rahane — within 29 runs as their scorecard read 136/4 in 17.2 overs.
While Shahbaz Ahmed (2/26) accounted for Dhawan and Iyer, Washington Sundar (1/24) got rid of Rahane.
Marcus Stoinis (10) and Rishabh Pant (8 not out) then added the required 18 runs in 10 balls to guide their side to the playoffs.
Earlier, South African pace duo Kagiso Rabada (2/30) and Anrich Nortje (3/33) came all guns blazing on a slow Abu Dhabi surface to restrict RCB to 152/7 in 20 overs.
Opener Devdutt Padikkal continued his good form with the bat with 41-ball 50 while AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli scored 35 and 29 respectively. The trio, however, failed to convert the start and as a result, RCB failed to put a decent total on board.
Brief scores: Delhi Capitals: 154/4 wkts in 19 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 60, ShikharDhawan 54; Shahbaz Ahmed 2/26) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 152/7 wkts in 20 overs (D Padikkal 50, AB de Villiers 35, Anrich Nortje 3/33) by 6 wickets
