While the IPL has increasingly become a batter-dominated contest—made even more pronounced by a rise in scores of 200-plus following the introduction of the Impact Sub—Royal Challengers Bengaluru produced a strikingly different story at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday. Delhi Capitals were routed for an all-time low total in the league.
Looking to settle scores after losing to RCB in their previous four meetings, Delhi’s opponents chose to bowl first. The decision paid off instantly, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood setting the tone using pace and accuracy.
Bhuvneshwar’s opening over delivered a perfect start. On his first delivery, an outswinger induced debutant Sahil Parakh to take the outside edge; the ball trickled toward short third before the next attempt. The very next ball was a searing inswinging yorker that crashed into the middle stump. Parakh had no answer, and his debut ended with a duck.
After removing the newcomer, Hazlewood made an immediate impact in the following over, striking twice in consecutive deliveries. First, he sent a 141.4 kph short ball skidding onto the stumps to trap KL Rahul, leaving the batter cramped for space. Rahul’s top edge was taken cleanly by wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma, ending his brief stay on just one run—coming only days after his unbeaten 152.
On the next ball, Hazlewood widened the angle outside off and went fuller. Sameer Rizvi tried to force the issue, but the batter only managed to nick it away behind, resulting in a golden duck. Tristan Stubbs survived the hat-trick ball, but Delhi’s recovery never really started; he fell quickly when he chased a wide delivery and edged straight to slip.
Three balls later, Bhuvneshwar struck again, this time using late movement to find another outside edge. Axar Patel was dismissed, and Delhi’s collapse accelerated to 7 for 5 in only 2.4 overs. It marked the earliest any team has ever lost five wickets in an IPL innings.
Delhi’s slide continued unabated. Hazlewood removed Nitish Rana in the fourth over, and the hosts struggled to build any momentum. By the end of the powerplay, Delhi had managed only 13 runs—registering the lowest six-over total in IPL history.
Even more telling was the contribution from Delhi’s top six batters: the seven runs they scored together became the second-lowest combined output by a top order in IPL history. Only Kochi Tuskers Kerala’s four-run total against Deccan Chargers in Kochi in 2011 stands lower.
