All's well that ends well. The IPL 2020 match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals was a perfect example of this as both teams advanced to the play-offs, despite the latter winning by six wickets, in Abu Dhabi.
Chasing 153 to win, Capitals reached the target in 19 overs. Ajinkya Rahane anchored the chase with a 46-ball 60, with Shikhar Dhawan chipping in with 54 off 41 balls. Though DC lost opener Prithvi Shaw (9) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (7) cheaply, Rahane and Dhawan shared an 88-run stand for the second wicket to virtually seal the match, and the number 2 position, for DC.
Spinner Shahbaz Ahmed was the pick of the RCB bowlers, taking 2/26 in his four overs. RCB needed to take the match beyond 17.3 overs to ensure their qualification. The Virat Kohli-led side will meet either Kolkata Knight Riders or Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator.
If SRH win tomorrow against Mumbai Indians, they will go through. If not, KKR will advance into the play-offs.
Earlier, after being put into bat, RCB were restricted to 152/7 in 20 overs, courtesy some brilliant bowling from the Capitals, with Anrich Nortje leading the way with 3/33.
Opener Devdutt Padikkal top-scored with 50 but played 41 balls for it. He hit five fours and shared a 57-run stand with skipper Virat Kohli (29 off 24 balls).
The powerplay overs yielded 41 runs, including five fours and a maximum, for the loss of one wicket.
AB de Villiers (35) was yet again in sublime touch and raised a 33-run stand with young Shivam Dube (17 off 11 balls), but the duo could not power RCB to a bigger total.
