IPL 7, DD vs RCB, Highlights: Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh blast RCB to eight-wicket win over DD

Royal Challengers Bangalore crushed Delhi Daredevils by eight wickets in their opening IPL 7 game in Sharjah on Thursday. Catch all the highlights here: (Scorecard | Summary)

 

Yuzvendra Chahal is the Man-of-the-Match for his figures of 4-0-18-1 and he said he got a lot of confidence seeing the first ball turn and thanked his skipper for all the support.

That's the end of this match. It's a double-header tomorrow in Abu Dhabi. Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab followed by Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals.

 

Virat Kohli, RCB captain: I am in a good phase right now and hopefully I can help the team. It was easily a 170+ track and to hold them to 145 was a great effort. I am very happy with the way we performed. It was sad to see how people targeted Yuvraj after the World T20, he has won us two world cups and he's a proven match-winner and it's important to back a player like that.

 

Dinesh Karthik, DD captain: RCB batted well and kept playing their shots and it all came off. Our fielding effort was bad. It's the first game of the season and we're getting used to who performs which role and it's important for us to learn and come back in the next game.

 

23: 15 IST: Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Delhi Daredevils by eight wickets to get off to a winning start in their Indian Premier League 2014 campaign as Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on 49 and Yuvraj Singh smashed an unbeaten 52 off 29 balls. Nothing went right for the Daredevils, who lost the toss and were asked to bat. They were without the services of Kevin Pietersen and their other star player, Dinesh Karthik, failed as well. Despite losing early wickets, Delhi Daredevils recovered well to post 145/4 off their 20 overs, thanks to JP Duminy (67 not out) and Ross Taylor (43 not out). The pair added 110 for the fifth wicket and it did look like they could compete against RCB. However, the Royal Challengers were too strong, even without Chris Gayle, as Parthiv Patel launched a strong start to the chase, which was finished brilliantly by Kohli and Yuvraj.

 

23:14 IST: Yuvraj Singh slams a six and a four to get to a fifty in his first game for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

23:12 IST: SIX! Yuvraj dismisses that one from his presence. Shami, the bowler looks on helplessly. RCB are on cruising towards a win here.

 

23:06 IST: Strategic timeout. What do the Daredevils have to talk about now? What can help recover from this position? RCB need 22 runs off the last five overs with eight wickets in hand.

 

23:03 IST: Whatever hopes DD had, have been dashed by Kohli. Two consecutive sixes off Rahul Sharma from the captain and one by Yuvraj in the 15th over, have more or less ensured that RCB are on course for an easy win tonight.

 

23:01 IST: SIX! Yuvraj picks it off his pads and RCB bring up 100 in their innings. They are 104/2 after 14 overs.

 

23:00 IST: SIX! Kohli gets stuck into that one from Neesham, as if to remind him what a mistake he made by dropping him. This is brilliant stuff from Kohli.

 

22:54 IST: DROPPED! Neesham drops Kohli at short fine-leg. What a costly miss that could be for Delhi. Wayne Parnell, the bowler is not amused but RCB's fans are elated.

 

22:48 IST: Jimmy Neesham, making his IPL debut, in the attack for the Daredevils and he has two of the best modern-day limited overs batsmen up against him. What can he bring to the table?

 

22:43 IST: SIX! Yuvraj is in business, whacking Rahul Sharma for the maximum. That was vintage Yuvi and things are looking great for RCB at this stage. The southpaw had said he wanted to use the IPL to get over the disappointments of the World T20 and he could well be on course for a good start at least.

 

22:41 IST: Half way into their innings, RCB are well in the game at 69/2, needing 77 from the last 10 overs with eight wickets in hand. Kohli and Yuvraj are at the crease together and they have the dangerous AB de Villiers set to walk in next.

 

22:35 IST: WICKET! And Rahul Sharma strikes straightaway. Patel charged down the wicket, missed the line and had his timber rattled. Big wicket for Delhi Daredevils. Yuvraj Singh in the middle with Kohli.

 

22:33 IST: Rahul Sharma into the attack, some leg-spin from Delhi Daredevils now. Can he make a difference here?

 

22:30 IST: Patel and Kohli have brought up their 50-run stand and in good time too, off just 35 balls. RCB are coasting along at this stage.

 

22:20 IST: SIX! Patel blasts that one from Nadeem into the night-skies and Kohli is all smiles at the non-striker's end. Even Kevin Pietersen could not stop himself from appreciating that shot during his interview with the broadcasters from the dugout. RCB are 50/1 off 6 overs and it's a strategic timeout.

 

22:12 IST: Kohli came and smashed his first ball to the fence but the RCB skipper has been off-strike for the next two overs, but he would not really mind as his partner Parthiv Patel has done well, having scored 19 off 17 balls he has faced so far.

 

22:07 IST: Vijay Mallya has spent good money on some big ticket players and he would expect them to deliver tonight. A winning start to the season is always welcome and the RCB owner must be keen to bag the first points too.

 

22:02 IST: WICKET! Shami digs it in short and Maddinson gloves it. Simple, catch for Dinesh Karthik behind the stumps.

 

22:00 IST: Mohammed Shami into the attack. He has been in good form for India and has picked up regular wickets at the start. Can he do that for the Daredevils too?

 

21:57 IST: FOUR! Maddinson charges down the wicket and slams it on the off-side to get RCB going, who are 5/0 after the first over.

 

21:55 IST: All in readiness for RCB's chase. DD opening with spin as Duminy gets the ball.

 

21:39 IST: This has been a great recovery by Delhi Daredevils, who were in all sorts of trouble at 35/4, after being put in to bat by Royal Challengers Bangalore. JP Duminy (67 not out) and Ross Taylor (43 not out) added 110 runs for the fifth wicket as Delhi piled up 145/4, a strong score given the slowness of the surface. RCB have a strong batting line-up but they will be hard-pressed to get 146 on a pitch where the ball is turning and gripping. But watch out for Kohli, AB and Yuvraj. If these three get going, no score on any kind of pitch would seem out of reach.

 

21:37 IST: Dinda again, for the last over. What's Kohli thinking here? He has been expensive and Albie Morkel and Aaron had one over left apiece. This move has allowed the Daredevils to get close to 140.

 

21:28 IST: SIX! Cracking shot from JP Duminy as Kohli looks on helplessly. But that was a poor ball from Dinda and it deserved the treatment. And a FOUR! off the next ball brings up his fifty.

 

21:24 IST: 100 up for Delhi Daredevils. Twenty balls left in the innings. How many more can they get here tonight?

 

21:21 IST: No-ball from Starc and it's a free-hit. Shane Warne keeps talking of how Starc should curtail his no-ball habits. Fortunately for RCB, it did not prove too costly this time.

 

21:18 IST: SIX! Boom. Duminy uses his feet and lashes on to that one from Yuvraj and it brings up the 50-run stand between him and Taylor. Good, aggressive shot that from the South African batsman.

 

21:17 IST: The ball is gripping and turning and it may not be very easy for RCB to chase down anything in excess of 135, but DD will need to get there first. At the moment (82/4 off 15 overs), things don't look too good for the Delhi boys.

 

21:10 IST: Stratetigic timeout. Someone from the DD camp would be shouting into Taylor's the ears the urgent need to accelerate now. JP Duminy needs to get going too. DD are 79/4 after 14 overs.

21:08 IST: Rs 14 crore boy Yuvraj Singh is into the attack - the man with the golden arm, as they call him. The man who called him pie chucker is unfortunately not playing today.

 

21:05 IST: FOUR! First boundary in seven overs as Taylor gets one away from Dinda to the fine leg fence. But this hardly looks like the start of an assault. How late are DD going to hold back?

 

21:02 IST: Chahal is bowling brilliantly. 3-015-1 make for very good reading for a 23-year-old leg-spinner up against two world class batsmen. He has kept Taylor and Duminy in check.

 

20:54 IST: Delhi Daredevils are 49/4 midway into their innings. Can Ross Taylor take them to a respectable score with JP Duminy? There could be some serious fireworks here. Neesham is due in next as well.

 

20:48 IST: RCB have used four bowlers so far and each of them has taken a wicket so far. What a night this is turning out for skipper Kohli.

 

20:41 IST: WICKET! Straight after a timeout and Chahal snaps up Vijay first ball. This is getting bad to worse for the Delhi Daredevils. The ump wants to look at the no-ball but replays show the bowler is fine. It's the end of Vijay. DD 35/4 off 7.1 overs.

 

20:38 IST: Delhi Daredevils lost their first three wickets for 17 runs and now they have gone without losing another for 18 more runs. Call that a recovery for DD? Anyways, it's strategic timeout and they will have some introspection to do. What more will Donald tell his bowlers? Keep it simple, will be a quick guess.

 

20:33 IST: Aaron is one of the better death bowlers in India, says Donald. The young pacer will be delighted to hear what his legendary coach has to say about him AND he appears excited about a bouncer Aaron just bowled to Vijay.

 

20:30 IST: RCB bowling coach Allan Donald says on air that he is delighted with the start given by his fast bowlers. They have a great combination operating presently - Starc, Albie, Aaron. Great stuff. DD are 30/3 after 6 overs.

 

20:22 IST: WICKET! This is disaster for Delhi. Varun Aaron strikes in his first over, knocking off Manoj Tiwary as the Daredevils slipped further after being put in to bat. JP Duminy walks out to join forces with Vijay and Delhi still have Taylor and Neesham waiting in the wings. But this is far from an ideal start.

 

20:17 IST: WICKET! Albie Morkel strikes and he gets Dinesh Karthik. This is a huge, huge blow for Delhi Daredevils, who are already without Kevin Pietersen. What a horror start for DD this is - 17/2 after 4 overs is not a position they would have bargained for after being put into bat.

 

20:14 IST: WICKET! Agarwal perishes to Starc after he failed to control an attempted pull shot. Easy catch for Virat Kohli at square leg. Dinesh Karthik joins his Tamil Nadu Ranji teammate Vijay at the crease.

 

20:12 IST: SIX! And Vijay just flicks that off from Starc and the ball goes soaring into the roof. The ball has been lost, what a shot that was. Delhi Daredevils are underway.

 

20:10 IST: Slow start for DD as they reach 7/0 after two overs. This is good, incisive bowling from RCB because they have avoided giving any width to the Delhi openers.

 

20:06 IST: Albie Morkel shares the new ball with Starc. Can Albie do what his brother Morne did for KKR last evening? RCB would hope so - after all Albie is coming off a pretty average outing in the ICC World Twenty20.

 

20:04 IST: Murali Vijay has had a fruitful IPL career for Chennai Super Kings? Can he translate a bit of that form for DD? He defends the first two balls from Starc in a solid start for his new franchise.

 

20:01 IST: Starc with the new ball for RCB as Agarwal takes strike for DD. Game time.

 

Playing XIs:

Delhi Daredevils: Murali Vijay, Mayank Agarwal, Dinesh Karthik (Captain & WK), JP Duminy, Ross Taylor, Manish Tiwary, Jimmy Neesham, Wayne Parnell, Shahbaz Nadeem, Rahul Sharma, Mohammed Shami

 

Royal Challengers Bangalore: PA Patel (WK), NJ Maddinson, V Kohli (Captain), Yuvraj Singh, AB de Villiers, JA Morkel, S Rana, AB Dinda, MA Starc, YS Chahal, VR Aaron

 

19:52 IST: Has a bit of sheen been taken away from Game 2 of the IPL 2014? No Gayle, no Pietersen. But the large contingent of Indian fans will be thrilled to see Kohli and Yuvraj and AB de Villiers is never too far away from a breathtaking innings.

 

19:32 IST: Royal Challengers Bangalore won the toss and decided to bowl first against Delhi Daredevils in their opening game of the IPL 2014. RCB skipper Virat Kohli likes to chase and with the likes of AB de Villiers and Yuvraj in the side, he would be fancying his chances. But not clear as to why Gayle is not playing today.

 

19:26 IST: Minutes away from the toss now between RCB and DD, who will be without their biggest star, Kevin Pietersen. All eyes tonight will be on Yuvraj Singh after he was bought by the Mallyas for Rs 14 crore. Can he repay their immense faith? Stay with us to find out.

 

FACTOID: There is very little to choose between Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore as far as head-to-head results are concerned. They have played 11 matches against each other, winning five each and one tied game.

Delhi to start campaign without KP

Delhi Daredevils suffered a big jolt ahead of their Indian Premier League campaign as captain Kevin Pietersen was on Wednesday ruled out of their opening match on Thursday against Royal Challengers Bangalore here due to a finger injury. Pietersen, who was bought by Daredevils for USD 1.5 million (Rs 9 crore), had sustained an injury on his right hand little finger during fielding drills with Surrey at The Oval last month.

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