A Royal win keeps Royals semifinal hopes alive

Royal Banglore Challengers Vs Delhi Daredevils - Match 52 - New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

It was a do or die match for Royal Banglore Challengers against the tournament leaders Delhi Daredevils. A win here would mean that Royals can keep their semi-finals dream alive, but on the other hand a defeat would make leave them to the mercy of other teams and a must win situation against Deccan Chargers the next match. Delhi who decided to bat first, had another bad start loosing both Shewag and Manhas for "DUCK". The early wickets meant that Delhi could not attack in the first 6 overs and with Dilshan being rested for this match, the Delhi line up looked vulnerable. G Gambhir(27 from 19 balls) and De Villers(28 from 29 balls) could not capitalize on the starts they got. Whenever Delhi looked to accelerate, they lost wickets and hence their run rate never looked ominous. D Karthik's form in this second half of the tournament is an encouraging sign for Delhi. Karthik made 31 from 29 balls. He looked to take singles and doubles and when the time came for him to get his big shots in the last two overs, he lost his wicket to Kumar. In the end Delhi managed a score of 134 loosing 3 wickets. P Kumar picked up two wickets and Kumble got a couple of wickets. But the best bowler for the Banglore was J Kallis. Kallis bowled his four overs conceding just 17 runs and also picked up the important wicket of Gambhir.

The loss of Robin Uthappa early in their chase did not impact the Challengers run chase. Kallis and Rahul were involved in a brilliant partnership and with the run rate not a demanding one, they took time to settle and played risk free cricket. Dravid fell to Nagar after making 38 from 34 balls. Ross Taylor blasted off by hitting 3 sixers and a four, making 25 from just 12 balls, before he succumbed Nagar. With 34 needed from 5 overs Kallis who remained unbeaten on 58 and Boucher ensured a Royal Challenger victory without any further damage.

Toss
Delhi Daredevils won the toss and chose to bat first.

Brief Scores
Delhi Daredevils - 134/7 in 20 overs(D Karthik - 31, AB De villiers - 28, P Kumar - 3/30, A Kumble - 2/24)
Banglore Royal Challengers - 135/3 in 19 overs(J Kallis - 58*, R Dravid - 38*, Y Nagar - 2/20, A Nehra - 1/21)

Result
Banglore Royal Challengers won by 7 wickets