Royal Challengers Bengaluru crushed Delhi Capitals by nine wickets in their IPL match on Monday after a new-ball spell from Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar finished the contest almost inside the first three overs. RCB’s fast bowlers broke Delhi’s batting line-up in the Powerplay, reducing them to 13 for 6 in six overs, one of the lowest starts in IPL history. Hazlewood took 4 for 12 and Bhuvneshwar picked up 3 for 5 as Delhi were bowled out for 75 in 16.3 overs. They avoided the record for the lowest IPL total, which still belongs to RCB’s 49 against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2017. Only Abhishek Porel (30), David Miller (19) and Kyle Jamieson (12) reached double figures. Delhi managed only eight fours and one six in the innings. Chasing 76, RCB openers Virat Kohli (23) and Jacob Bethell (20) gave the visitors a quick start. The only wicket in the chase was Bethell, who was dismissed after a sharp catch by T Natarajan off Jamieson’s bowling. Devdutt Padikkal then made 34 as RCB completed the chase in just 6.3 overs. Kohli and Padikkal made the chase simple, and the former finished the match with two sixes in a row off Natarajan in front of the home crowd that had come mainly to watch him bat. For Delhi, the trouble started on the second ball of the innings when Bhuvneshwar bowled debutant Sahil Parakh with an inswinging yorker that hit middle stump. Hazlewood followed with two wickets in two balls, removing last-match centurion KL Rahul for 1 and Sameer Rizvi for a duck. Rahul mistimed a pull shot, while Rizvi edged behind trying to drive away from his body. Bhuvneshwar then got Tristan Stubbs for 5 as the batter edged to Padikkal at slip. Soon after, captain Axar Patel was out for 0, edging another delivery behind. Delhi were suddenly 8 for 5 in three overs and then 9 for 6 soon after. Only one boundary came in the Powerplay, from Stubbs, while Nitish Rana (1) also fell to Hazlewood. It was fitting that Hazlewood ended the innings as well, bowling Porel to close out Delhi’s collapse.
