ROYAL Challengers Bangalore’s fast bowlers dismantled Delhi Daredevils for 95 at Feroz Shah Kotla, setting up their eighth consecutive win over the hosts.Virat Kohli went for the extra fast bowler in Varun Aaron following a finger injury to leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, and Daredevils never recovered from 39 for 4 after the India quick dismissed Yuvraj Singh and Angelo Mathews off successive balls.
Scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 99 for 0 (Gayle 62*) beat Delhi Daredevils 95 (Starc 3-20, Wiese 2-18, Aaron 2-24) by ten wickets.
Generating sharp pace and bounce, Mitchell Starc and Aaron were too much for the Daredevils top order, and the match soon descended into a no-contest as David Wiese’s variations provided little release on a two-paced pitch.
Daredevils went downhill right from the start. Their leading run-getter of the season Shreyas Iyer got a golden duck courtesy a Starc inswinger, although the leg-before decision was marginal at best.
JP Duminy and Mayank Agarwal took the score to 36, but the former tried a big drive against a Wiese delivery that did not quite come on, and feathered it behind.
Then came the knockout blow from Aaron. Yuvraj lasted five balls and went to his first one of express pace. Aaron produced a lifter outside off, Yuvraj prodded at it from the crease, and nicked it to the keeper. Angelo Mathews got a waist-high short ball but in looking to work it away, only popped it up for a simple catch to midwicket.
Agarwal had been edging and missing against the fast bowlers but scraped his way to 27 before he charged out and was stumped off Iqbal Abdulla.
Nathan Coulter-Nile soon missed a heave at Wiese and was trapped plumb in front.
Kedar Jadhav’s 33 dragged Daredevils to the joint-lowest score of the season so far but to sum up their night, he pulled a Harshal Patel half-tracker straight to deep midwicket.
Starc ran through the tail to end with 3 for 20 as Daredevils were dismissed in the 19th over with a run-out off an overthrow.
Openers Chris Gayle and Kohli took 10.3 overs to seal the win. Gayle took the lead smashing six fours and four sixes in his 62 off 40. Kohli was on 6 off 9 after six overs but got some strike and hit a few boundaries thereafter to end on 35 off 23.
Bowling first and strangling the opposition had worked for the second time on the trot for Royal Challengers after their win over Rajasthan Royals, and damningly, it was the sixth time Daredevils had been dismissed for a sub-100 score, the most for any team in the IPL.
Meanwhile, no play was possible at Eden Gardens after a heavy afternoon shower left the ground water-logged.
Points were shared between the two teams, lifting Rajasthan Royals past Chennai Super Kings to the top of the points table. Kolkata Knight Riders remained third on the table with seven points. (ESPN Cricinfo)