Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) continued their dream run in IPL 2025 with a commanding win against Delhi Capitals (DC), notching up their seventh victory of the season. Led by the calm presence of Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya, RCB chased down a tricky target to further solidify their place at the top of the points table.
Despite early setbacks — losing three wickets inside the powerplay, RCB’s experienced heads kept their cool. Kohli, once again living up to his “chase master” reputation, held the innings together while guiding Pandya through a tough phase where timing and momentum were hard to find. Their perseverance paid off as Krunal Pandya eventually found his rhythm, while Kohli continued to anchor the innings.
Just when it seemed the match might head into a tense final over, Tim David’s powerful cameo sealed the victory in the 19th over, capitalizing on fielding errors and some questionable decisions from DC skipper Axar Patel. The dew factor didn’t help DC’s cause either, making it tougher to defend on a surface that initially seemed challenging.
Earlier, DC had a promising start with Porel blazing away at the top, but RCB’s bowlers — particularly the spinners — applied a mid-innings choke, restricting boundaries and forcing mistakes. Even without a heap of wickets, the spin duo crucially slowed the run rate, setting up the game for a manageable chase.
On the individual front, Virat Kohli continues to shine with the Orange Cap firmly on his head, while Josh Hazlewood has surged ahead to claim the Purple Cap, rewarding RCB’s balanced and well-executed plans this season.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Jacob Bethell, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal
Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul(w), Axar Patel(c), Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar
