Bangalore produced all-round performances on Saturday night at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai to defeat the former finalists Delhi in the Match No 27 of the ongoing Indian T20 Cricket League 2022 tournament.
After setting a strong total of 189/5 powered by outstanding half-centuries at different stages in the innings from Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and India’s veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, followed by Josh Hazlewood’s 3-for and a couple of wickets for Mohammed Siraj, Bangalore recorded a victory by 16 runs to move to the third spot in the Indian T20 Cricket League 2022 points table.
Bangalore are one of the three teams that now have 8 points in 6 matches, following 4 wins and 2 losses for the Faf du Plessis-led team, with their net run rate being 0.142.
On the other hand, the Rishabh Pant-led Delhi were at the 8th spot with 2 victories and 3 defeats giving them 5 points and a NRR of 0.219 from 5 matches.
The contest on Saturday night witnessed Australian cricketers from both the teams making strong impressions on the game.
After Glenn Maxwell smacked 55 from 34 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes, the Delhi opener and former Hyderabad captain David Warner scored 66 from 38 balls with 4 boundaries and 5 sixes to provide his team with a strong start.
With the ball, Josh Hazlewood was simply brilliant on his part, returning with figures of 4-0-28-3.
After setting a target of 190 runs for Delhi to win, Bangalore restricted their opponents for 173/7 from their 20 overs with David Warner’s 66 and Delhi captain Rishabh Pant’s 34 being the only bright spots as far as their batting was concerned.
Earlier in the match, Delhi were able to make early breakthroughs after electing to field. The Bangalore captain Faf du Plessis continued to have a forgettable time in the middle with the bat, perishing for 8 from 11 balls with the help of a couple of boundaries. \
The Bangalore side was soon rocked one again when their wicketkeeper-batsman Anuj Rawat was trapped leg-before by star India and Delhi all-rounder Shardul Thakur for a first ball duck.
The matters became worse for Bangalore when their former captain V Kohlii was runout for 12, having faced 14 balls and hitting one boundary in the process.
That was when Glenn Maxwell got going, putting on vital partnerships along the way to keep the scoreboard ticking for his side. After adding 27 runs for the third wicket with V Kohlii, Glenn Maxwell added 35 from just 19 balls in the company of Suyash Prabhudessai and followed it up with a short 17-run stand for the 5th wicket Shahbaz Ahmed.
But the biggest partnership of the innings as well as the match came from the pair of Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaz Ahmed, who added a splendid 97-run unbeaten stand for the 6th wicket which came from only 52 balls.
The veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik was absolutely belligerent on Saturday night, smacking 5 sixes and as many fours to make 66 from 34 balls whereas Shahbaz Ahmed reached 32 not out from 21 balls with the help of 3 boundaries.
For Delhi, the likes of Shardul Thakur, Khaleel Ahmed, Akshar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav all took one wicket apiece.
In a stiff chase, Delhi required a strong start which was provided by the pair of David Warner and Prithvi Shaw.
The two aggressive batsmen put on 52 runs in just 4.4 overs before they were separated, with Prithvi Shaw being dismissed for a 13-ball 16 for which he hit one boundary and a six.
David Warner teamed up with his Australian teammate Mitchell Marsh to take Delhi ahead, adding 44 runs from 41 balls for the second wicket. However, David Warner missed connecting on a switch hit against one in the Wanindu Hasaranga, as the Sri Lankan spinner had the dashing Delhi batsmen out for 66 for which he hit 5 sixes and 4 boundaries from 38 balls.
Mitchell Marsh was unfortunate to have an out when Sri Lanka and Bangalore skipper spinner Wanindu Hasaranga got his fingers on a straight shot played directly by Delhi captain Rishabh Pant, with the Australian's innings ending at 14 from 24 balls.
Delhi captain Rishabh Pant tried to weather the storm after West Indies batsman Rovman Powell was dismissed for a first-ball duck and Lalit Yadav could manage only 1. But Delhi eventually ran out of fight after the dismissal of Rishabh Pant for 34, for which the left-handed explosive batsman cracked 2 sixes and 3 fours in the process.
Delhi will now be seen in action on Wednesday, April 23 against Punjab whereas Bangalore will be facing Lucknow on April 19, Tuesday.
Devarchit Varma is a cricket writer and journalist with an experience of more than a decade, having worked at Hindustan Times (newspaper) and CricketCountry (website). Along with covering international and domestic cricket, he has also interviewed several current and former top players such as Rohit Sharma, Steve Smith, Dale Steyn, Michael Hussey, Jacques Kallis, Brendon McCullum, Shane Watson, Lasith Malinga and many more. He has also worked in other beats as a journalist in Bollywood (Reliance BigOye) and IT (SiliconIndia) industries.
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