Virat Kohli enthralled a packed Arun Jaitely Stadium with a solid fifty but it wasn’t a perfect homecoming for the local boy as Royal Challengers Bangalore encountered a storm in Phil Salt which blew them away in Delhi.
DC thrashed RCB by seven wickets to make a short work of the target of 182, hunting it down in just 16.4 overs.
Every run of Kohli got a huge cheer from the fans as Delhi welcomed their prodigal son.
Also Read: Kohli Thankful as RCB Star Brings Up 7000 IPL Runs
Kohli hit the headlines recently for his altercations with Naveen ul Haq and Gautam Gambhir in Lucknow but on Saturday, he was in a different mood as he exchanged pleasantries with Ishant Sharma and appeared in a jovial mood.
It was another record-breaking night for the batting maestro as he became the first player ever to score 7000 runs in Indian Premier League.
Kohli started a bit rusty but soon switched to his role of a sheet anchor and took the team forward. He shared a solid 82-run stand with skipper Faf du Plessis (45) for the first wicket. While his presence also allowed Mahipal Lomror to play his natural game as the southpaw took the bowlers to the cleaners when Kohli was looking to convert the singles into doubles.
He started off with a boundary at covers on the second ball against Khaleel Ahmed. While in the second over of the innings, played a cut shot towards the point to complete his 7000 runs in T20 league.
It was a special moment for the 34-year-old as his family – wife Anushka Sharma, brother, sister and their families were also present at Qila Kotla to support the RCB star.
The former RCB captain was dismissed for 55 by Mukesh Kumar in the 16th over.
It was on the pads and Kohli guided it on the square leg as Khaleel Ahmed, inside the circle, managed to hold on to it after a few fumbles. While solid, it wasn’t a perfect T20 innings as Kohli consumed 46 deliveries while hitting five fours.
“I am happy to contribute. It’s a special moment for me, my family is here, my coach is here, Anushka is here. My whole journey started here. I was watched by the selectors at this ground and selected. I feel nothing but gratitude, god has blessed me with such amazing things, I can only bow down,” Kohli said after his innings.
Lomror smashed boundaries at regular intervals to provide the impetus.
DC bowlers continued to stray onto the pads of Lomror and the southpaw kept finding the gaps to pile on the misery. He completed his fifty, maiden of IPL career, off just 26 balls.
Dinesh Karthik once again failed to give the finishing touches to the RCB’s innings as they posted 181/4 in 20 overs.
Lomror remained unbeaten on 54 off 28 balls which was laced with 6 fours and 3 sixes.
“Lomror came in and changed the game, he shifted the game (momentum) towards us. I was targeting the last three overs, but I think Dinesh and Anuj did a good job. The younger guys playing like this, gives me, Faf and Maxi a lot of confidence. It’s a great sign for the team, it was an amazing knock by him tonight,” Kohli talked highly of Lomror to shift the momentum in RCB’s favour at the business end of the innings.
Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, who are the backbone of Delhi Capitals’ bowling, ended up wicketless. While Marsh claimed a couple as he dismissed Du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell on back-to-back deliveries. Mukesh and Khaleel settled for one each. It was a disciplined bowling performance from the Capitals as they didn’t bowl any no-ball.
However, DC finally managed to get a flying start this season as Phil Salt and David Warner took apart RCB in the powerplay.
Warner started the chase with a boundary and they just kept coming for Capitals after that.
The second innings witnessed a heated exchange between Mohammed Siraj and Salt. It was the fifth over of the innings and Salt smacked the RCB pacer for a couple of sixes and a four.
The two exchanged words which saw Warner intervening and separating the two. Interestingly, Kohli maintained his distance.
Also Read: Salt and Siraj Involved in Animated Exchange
Warner was dismissed for 22 off 14 balls in the final over of powerplay but it was already too late for Bangalore as the momentum was in DC’s favour.
Mitchell Marsh (26) and Salt found gaps quite easily in every over as RCB found themselves out of the contest when DC racked up 115/1 in 10 overs.
Meanwhile, the fans were still cheering loudly for Kohli as he was placed near the boundary line in the second innings.
Salt showed the right template to bat, smashing 87 runs off 45 balls which was laced with 8 fours and 6 sixes.
It was one of the rare occasions for Delhi where all four overseas players made valuable contributions to the team as Rilee Rossouw also remained unbeaten for 30 as the hosts won the match with 20 balls to spare.
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