IPL 2021, RCB vs DC: Bangalore pulls off a final ball thriller, stays contained at 3rd spot

On Friday, Royal Challengers Bangalore pulled off a thrilling seven-wicket win over Delhi Capitals in its IPL 2021 tie in Dubai. However, it has to be contained with a third-spot finish.

It was a spirited performance by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), as it pipped Delhi Capitals (DC) by seven wickets in a thrilling last-ball finish of Match 55 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday. RCB confirmed its third spot with this win and would now take on former champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Eliminator in Sharjah on Monday.

Winning the toss, RCB skipper Virat Kohli elected to bowl, as both sides moved in with an unchanged XI. DC openers Prithvi Shaw (48) and Shikhar Dhawan (43) were off to a flying start, contributing to an 88-run stand before the latter departed to pacer Harshal Patel in the 11th, followed by the former to leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal in the following over, 13 runs later.

The following over saw Pant (10) fall to pacer Daniel Christian at 108. However, Shreyas Iyer (18) and Shimron Hetmyer (29) contributed to a 33-run stand for the fourth wicket before the former was sent back by pacer Mohammed Siraj in the 18th.

At 164, Hetymyer fell in the final ball of the innings to the same man, as RCB finished on 164/5. DC put six bowlers into the attack, with Siraj claiming a couple, while he was the most economical of all too.

As RCB came out for the chase, it was off to a shaky start, losing openers Devdutt Padikkal (0) and Virat Kohli (4) within the Powerplay, with just six runs on the board. However, a 49-run stand between Srikar Bharat (78*) and AB de Villiers (26) stabilised the RCB innings before spinner Axar Patel dismissed the latter in the tenth.

In came Glenn Maxwell (51*) and, along with Bharat, saw out the rest of the innings. While both scored their 11th and maiden IPL half-century respectively, during this period, the final over saw Bharat hitting a six off the last ball from pacer Avesh Khan hand RCB an impressive and thrilling seven-wicket win.

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DC utilised six bowlers, with pacer Anrich Nortje claiming a couple, while he was also the most economical of all.
Brief scores: DC 164/5 (Shaw- 48, Dhawan- 43; Siraj- 2/25) lost to RCB 166/3 (Bharat- 78*, Maxwell- 51*; Nortje- 2/24) by seven wickets.