Another Dinesh Karthik blitz fashions Royal Challengers' victory
Glenn Maxwell did the early legwork with a fifty of his own, rendering a David Warner special in vain
Glenn Maxwell did the early legwork with a fifty of his own, rendering a David Warner special in vain
Scorer: M Venkat Raghav | Commentator: @sreshthx
That's all from us at ESPNcricinfo. See you tomorrow for Super Sunday. Our homepage has all the analysis from the afternoon game, and soon enough you'll have our breakdown of the evening game too! On behalf of Sid Monga and Venkat Raghav, this is Sreshth Shah saying ta-da!
Dinesh Karthik is the POTM: "I have bigger goals. I've been working really hard. My aim is to do something special for the country. This is part of my journey. I am doing everything I can to be part of the India team. Feels good to know that people associate calmness with me. Positions and calmness comes from preparation. Shahbaz is a special player, he will do special things as a player. He is up for a challenge. He can hit the ball a long way."
Winning captain Faf du Plessis: I think it is important from a top-order perspective that we contribute runs. We haven't as a top order, but the other guys are doing so. Batting is tricky up front, but the way Maxi put pressure back on them was vital. But to get 190 you needed a special innings, and credit goes to the two boys Shahbaz and DK. We felt like we haven't been as good as we would've liked at death bowling, so today we had a special plan. It was pretty wet out there, and the start they had, many teams would fall away. But we stuck around. A good win. Experience is nice because you can trust players when it is going well and when it is not going well. The way DK is playing at the moment, I may sound like a broken record, but he is playing the best he has ever. He is so clear, calm and composed. We considered batting first tonight, but the dew is a factor."
For those with a keen eye, you may have noticed that the two teams did not shake hands. Remember, Capitals physio Patrick Farhart tested Covid positive recently.
Thomas: "Never thought I'd see the day when RCB's middle order wins them almost every game!"
Hariharan: "Pant calling Marsh's slow scoring as key reason for defeat. WOW! Didn't HE MISSED A REGULATION CATCH BEHIND STUMPS when DK WAS @ 5 runs ! PHEW !"
Josh Hazlewood: Tonight it was a wicket lovely for batting in first six. As the game went on, we bowled well, took the pace off. It's all about adapting to conditions on the night. Change of pace is important for me and also sequencing it right through the over. I think dots are really when batters feel pressure, so we want to get back-to-back dots. We've tried the yorker last game, but it all depends on the conditions. Sometimes it rewards yorkers, sometimes it doesn't. Today wasn't that kind of day. Since coming in, the atmosphere is great. We are a side who moves well in the field."
Shivang: "This is what happens when you let go off players like Shreayas,rabada,Avesh and Stoinis who have been backbone of this DC setup....as poor as MI from DC at the auctions"
11.25pm Kohli, du Plessis and Maxwell congregate to congratulate each other. It has been a miraculous defense of a total. First the 190 target thanks to DK-Shahbaz, and then the recovery after how Shaw and Warner started in the chase.
Rishabh Pant, losing captain: "Warner batted beautifully and gave us every chance to win this match. We could've batted better in the middle overs. Can't blame Marsh also, since it is his first game. He looked rusty, but it's part and parcel of the game. I think we could've bowled according to our plans but we were slightly under the pump from DK in the latter half. I've said before too, we've got to learn from our mistakes."
The RCB flags begin to flutter around the ground.
Mathematically, it is still game on. Harshal.
Reiterates his desire to be part of India's plans once again after expertly executing another big-hitting job for RCB
Pant dropped the RCB finisher on 5, a mistake that cost his team 26 runs, and eventually the game too
Glenn Maxwell did the early legwork with a fifty of his own, rendering a David Warner special in vain
Assistant coach suggests Marsh will play Capitals' next game, against Royals Challengers Bangalore on Saturday
In Harshal's absence, Royal Challengers seek a quick fix for their death bowling