Two blistering spells from Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar propelled Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a comfortable nine-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday. The defending champions kept their momentum going with a sixth win from eight games, moving to 12 points and climbing to second place in the standings. Delhi, meanwhile, suffered their fifth loss of the campaign and, after winning three matches, sit seventh with three wins to their name.
Royal Challengers chose to bowl first and were rewarded almost immediately. Hazlewood produced a devastating burst before Bhuvneshwar followed up with accuracy and pace, leaving Delhi Capitals stranded at 75 all out in 16.3 overs. Abishek Porel top-scored with 30, while David Miller made 19 and Kyle Jamieson contributed 12, but the chase was never really threatened once the early wickets started piling up.
RCB’s chase began with composure rather than panic. Early boundaries from Virat Kohli and Jacob Bethell helped them find rhythm, yet the required rate was never allowed to get out of hand as they tightened their grip on the innings. In the third over, Bethell tried to accelerate by taking on Kyle Jamieson, launching consecutive sixes off the bowler. Jamieson responded in the next phase, removing Bethell for 20 off 11 balls; the dismissal included a four and two maximums, with T. Natarajan taking a sharp boundary catch. At that stage, RCB were 26/1 in 2.5 overs.
Devdutt Padikkal then shifted gears in the fifth over, striking two fours and two sixes to lift the score to 60 in five overs and put the chase firmly on track. Kohli brought the game to an end in style, finishing the job with two straight sixes to complete his 9,000 runs in IPL cricket. Royal Challengers finished on 77/1 in 6.3 overs, with Padikkal remaining unbeaten on 34 off 13 deliveries (three fours and three sixes) and Kohli unbeaten on 25 off 13 (one four and two sixes).
Delhi’s innings had started badly, and it only worsened after RCB struck with pace and discipline. The first blow arrived when Bhuvneshwar Kumar removed debutant Sahil Parakh’s middle stump with a two-ball duck. From there, Delhi slipped to 0/1 in 0.2 overs and could not recover. In the following over, Hazlewood struck twice in quick succession, dismissing KL Rahul when he top-edged a pull to Jitesh Sharma for one, and then getting Sameer Rizvi to nick his first ball to the wicketkeeper. Delhi were reeling at 2/3 in 1.2 overs.
Tristan Stubbs offered a brief moment of resistance by striking a four, but the reprieve was short-lived. Next over, Stubbs tried to work an outswinging delivery from Bhuvneshwar and was caught by Devdutt Padikkal at slip for five off three balls. Axar Patel was dismissed soon after as well, judged caught behind for a duck off three balls, leaving Delhi in a disastrous position at 7/5 in 2.4 overs.
Hazlewood continued to dominate in the third over, with Nitish Rana giving a catch to Padikkal at gully after gloving a bumper. Delhi were then 9/6 in 3.5 overs. By the end of the powerplay, the damage was already severe: Delhi were 13/6, with Miller and Porel holding the crease. It also marked only the second time in IPL history that a team had lost six wickets inside the powerplay, after Kochi Tuskers Kerala’s 29/6 against Deccan Chargers in 2011.
Miller and Porel attempted to steady the innings, striking boundaries off Rasikh Salam Dar in the seventh over. Miller found two fours in the ninth, but Rasikh had the final say by inducing a toe-ended catch to Jitesh Sharma. Miller departed for 19 off 18 balls, and Delhi were 43/7 after nine overs. At halfway, the Capitals were 46/7, with Porel on 18* and Jamieson on 1*.
Jamieson added a spark by hitting a six over deep square leg to bring up Delhi’s 50 in 10.2 overs, and he also struck a four. However, Krunal Pandya soon pinned him lbw for 12 off 13 balls, and Delhi slumped again to 62/8 in 12.3 overs. Suyash Sharma then removed Kuldeep Yadav with a straight delivery through the gate, leaving Delhi at 71/9 in 15.4 overs.
With wickets still falling, Hazlewood finished the job by ending Porel’s resistance—Porel made 30 off 33 balls—and wrapped up the innings at 75 in 16.3 overs. The standout bowling figures came from Hazlewood’s 4/12 in 3.3 overs and Bhuvneshwar’s 3/5 in three overs, while Krunal Pandya, Rasikh Salam Dar, and Suyash Sharma each took a wicket.
Chasing 75, RCB’s ruthless start ensured the contest never had to develop into a tense final phase. Their win also placed the spotlight on the history of low totals in IPL: 49 (Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 2017) is the lowest, followed by 58 (Rajasthan Royals vs RCB, 2009), 59 (Rajasthan Royals vs RCB, 2023), 66 (Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians, 2017), 67 (Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab, 2017), 67 (Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians, 2008), 68 (RCB vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 2022), 70 (RCB vs Chennai Super Kings, 2019), 70 (RCB vs Rajasthan Royals, 2014), 73 (Kings XI Punjab vs Rising Pune Supergiant, 2017), 74 (Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Deccan Chargers, 2011), and 75 (Delhi Capitals vs RCB, 2026).
