VIRAT Kohli’s incredible Indian Premier League form continued as Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Delhi Daredevils by six wickets in a decisive match yesterday to seal a play-off spot and eliminate their opponents.Kohli has taken the IPL by storm this season and the RCB captain made an unbeaten 54 from 45 balls to seal his side’s fourth win in a row and ensure they will face Gujarat Lions in the first qualifier in Bangalore on Tuesday.
Quinton de Kock (60 from 52) top scored as Delhi made 138-8, with Yuzvendra Chahal (3-32) and Chris Gayle (2-11) keeping the Daredevils in check in Raipur.
Both sides needed a win to stay in the tournament and Kohli, comfortably the leading run-scorer in the tournament after passing 50 as many as 10 times in 14 innings, once again inspired RCB with support from Lokesh Rahul (38 off 23).
Delhi looked capable of posting a challenging total when they were 71-2 in the 10th over, with De Kock going well after Chahal had struck twice.
The South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman came down the track to launch Sreenath Aravind over the ropes and struck a further five boundaries but wickets fell too frequently before Chris Morris (27no from 18) added much needed runs.
Gayle (1) and AB de Villiers (6) fell cheaply to Morris (1-31) and Zaheer Khan (1-30) respectively, but the tournament’s star performer Kohli stood firm with a responsible knock and an entertaining innings from Rahul also frustrated Delhi.
The magnificent Kohli hit the winning runs with 11 balls to spare to seal second spot and book a home qualifier against the Lions, with Sunrisers Hyderabad facing Kolkata Knight Riders in an eliminator at Feroz Shah Kotla Ground on Wednesday. (Omnisport.com)