DC vs RCB

That wraps up things pretty early tonight just to balance it our for the long shift from last night. Tomorrow, RR take on table-toppers PBKS in New Chandigarh and that promises to be a brilliant game. Do join us for that, for now this is Sourabh Agrawal signing off on behalf of Pradeep, Bidipto and the rest of team. Cheers!

Josh Hazlewood has been named as the Player of the Match for his 4/12 in 3.3 overs, here is what he had to say: (good to see fast bowlers ruling the roosts?) Turning up after 500+ runs the other day, didn't expect that. Just tried to follow Bhuvi and we ended up having a good powerplay. There was a little bit in it first up, a bit of sideways and some up and down as well, enough to work with. Once the ball got soft, it became more even

(on Nitish Rana' dismissal) The general plan was to make the batters hit in the 'V'. With the short ball, it is all about accuracy. Nice to see the ball hit higher on the bat, it was pretty tough to bat when the ball was hard

Would have been nice to bowl four in a row and get off the field but the way our spinners got into it, dotted it up. Suyash and then KP (Krunal) being the wily customer that he is. Feels like we are ticking every box

We have picked up from where we left off last season. We summed up conditions nicely in the away games last year and I feel we are hitting the straps at the right time this year as well

Rajat Patidar (RCB captain): (would he call it sweet revenge?) Absolutely. Even I am surprised with the way the wicket played but all credit to the bowlers. Specially Bhuvi and Hazlewood in the powerplay who got the swing. Swing was normal but the early wickets put us on the driver's seat. (Was there a temptation to give the fourth over to Bhuvi and Hazlewood?) No, we have planned that if it goes well at the start we will go 3 overs each and then see where it goes from there. Suyash got the ball to spin a lot after that, bowled stump to stump which was very good to see

(is he happy to see how his team is shaping up?) It is very important to stick to your routines. Long way to go still, it is just about taking one game at a time. (on their bowling lineup) When you're playing T20 cricket on flat surfaces, it is important to have a good bowling unit. Bowlers win you championships

Devdutt Padikkal [Royal Challengers Bengaluru]: "(On the powerplay bowling impact) It was great to see how we bowled in the first six overs. Those two with the new ball were exceptional, and when you have that kind of control from both ends, it builds immense pressure on the batting side. You could sense that every delivery was creating an opportunity.(On slip fielding and technique) A lot of it comes down to spending time in that position. Early in my career, I wasn’t particularly strong at slip fielding, but the more you do it, the better you get. It’s about picking the ball early and keeping your hands soft.(On the approach during the chase) With a small target on the board, the idea was to finish the game as quickly as possible and improve the net run rate. Once Ben got going, it made the chase straightforward for the rest of us.

Axar Patel [Delhi Capitals captain]: "(On the contrasting results) Honestly, it’s hard to explain what changed. In this format, you have to stay sharp all the time. The key now is to put this behind us and move forward.(On the GT game and momentum) You can always look back and think about what could have been—one catch or one run might have made a difference. But you can’t dwell on that. In the IPL, you have to stay consistent and can’t afford to take things lightly. It’s about focusing on the present rather than the past.(On the approach going forward) We just need to move on from this. Whether things are going well or not, the mindset has to remain positive. That’s the message for the team as well—stay upbeat and keep pushing ahead.(On the early swing conditions) It wasn’t surprising. They have world-class bowlers who can exploit those conditions. If our top order had managed to get through a few more overs, it could have been different, but credit to RCB for how they bowled.

9:57 PM local time and IST: MATCH SUMMARY

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (77/1 in 6.3 overs) beat Delhi Capitals (75 all-out in 16.3 overs) by 9 wickets

Devdutt Padikkal 34*(13) | Josh Hazlewood 4/12(3.3)
Abhishek Porel 30(33) | Kyle Jamieson 1/42(3)

DONE AND DUSTED IN A JIFFY! Second biggest win ever in IPL in terms of balls remaining as RCB decimate DC on their home soil with as many as 81 balls to spare

If someone ever asks you what a one-sided contest looks like, you now know what to show them. RCB get a big booster shot to their NRR which jumps from +1.10 to +1.92 with his monstorous win and hand DC a season-shattering defeat

The end came pretty quickly, Kohli finishing it with back-to-back sixes which was like a cherry on the cake for RCB and this crowd in Delhi which came out to watch the legend. Not before Bethell showed his wares though, a couple of massive sixes against Jamieson who eventually got him out but then Padikkal carried on his destructive form with the bat and made sure this does not get dragged along

To be fair, the game was done in the first four overs of the night when Bhuvi and Hazlewood reduced DC to 8/6 as they had the new ball on a string making the batters dance to their tunes. A total of 23 overs bowled in this contest, not a single point in all that was DC for once in the game whatsoever

Arun Jaitely Stadium is DC's home venue but there are more red shirts than blue in the stands, it has been the case in this short affair and they are making their presence felt just like their team with loud chants of RCB, RCB!

6.3 T. Natarajan to Virat Kohli, SIX MORE! THAT'S IT! RCB absolutely pulverize DC—76 demolished and chased down in ruthless fashion. Banged in short on the middle and off, Kohli hangs back and powered it all the way over deep mid-wicket for a maximum. What a win, what a statement win this from RCB! On one side, you see PBKS showing what they are capable of, here RCB's title defense going in grand fashion.

6.2 T. Natarajan to Virat Kohli, SIX! BAM! Length delivery, wide of off-stump. Kohli reaches and slams it all the way straight down the ground for a maximum.

5.5 Axar Patel to Devdutt Padikkal, length delivery down the leg-side, Padikkal went for the sweep, but gloved it over the keeper's head for a single.