Rajat Patidar admitted he was taken aback by the way the surface behaved after Royal Challengers Bengaluru posted a one-sided win over Delhi Capitals. The RCB captain pointed to the impact of the pace battery—Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood in particular—whose accuracy and movement left Delhi’s batting struggling for answers at Arun Jaitley Stadium.
What happened and how the match turned
- Bengaluru’s captain Patidar said he was surprised by the wicket’s character, while praising the bowlers for extracting control and cutting through the contest early.
- On a night that promised a marquee matchup between KL Rahul and the home-town favourite Virat Kohli (both in opposing colours), Delhi’s plan unravelled as Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood dominated with pace, bounce and variations.
- Delhi slipped to 8/6 as their batters failed to cope with the threat, leaving the chase effectively under pressure from the outset.
- Abishek Porel (30) tried to fight back, with David Miller (19) and Kyle Jamieson (12) also contributing, but the recovery lacked the momentum needed to challenge RCB’s control.
- After the innings, Patidar highlighted that early wickets kept Bengaluru in the driver’s seat, and added that the team had mapped out a powerplay approach involving their lead pacers if they struck early.
- He also singled out spinner Suyash Sharma, describing his “stump-to-stump” bowling and noting his return of 1/7 from four overs.
- With the ball, Hazlewood delivered a devastating spell of 4/12 and Bhuvneshwar backed it up with 3/5, restricting Delhi to 75 in 16.3 overs.
- In reply, Bengaluru’s top order chased with intent: Jacob Bethell struck 20 off 10 balls (including a four and two sixes), Devdutt Padikkal made 34 not out off 13 (three fours and three sixes), and Virat Kohli finished unbeaten on 25 off 13 (a four and two sixes).
- RCB completed the chase in 6.3 overs, wrapping up the contest comfortably.
Patidar’s post-match words
Speaking after the victory, Patidar said, “Even I am surprised at how the wicket played. All credit to the bowlers—Hazlewood and Bhuvi, the way they bowled in the powerplay. The good thing was we got early wickets, and it kept us in the driving seat.”
He added that Bengaluru had planned to split the powerplay spell between their lead pacers if early breakthroughs came their way, stating, “We had planned that if we get early wickets, they (Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood) would bowl 3-3 each.”
On Suyash Sharma’s role, Patidar noted, “Suyash got a lot of spin—the way he bowled stump to stump, it was pleasing to see. Very important to follow your routine.”
He further emphasised the need for game-by-game improvement and praised contributions from different players, saying, “Still a long way to go. We are taking it one game at a time. The positive was different players coming up and doing it for the team.”
Patidar concluded with a wider reflection on T20 success, stating, “You should have a good bowling attack (on flat pitches in T20 cricket) because only bowlers can win you championships.”
Points update
The win lifted RCB to six victories from eight matches, moving them to second place on the points table with 12 points. For Delhi, it was their fifth loss, with three wins so far, leaving them in seventh position.
