New Delhi: Royal Challengers Bengaluru have discovered a quiet, unrecognized hero propelling their success in away matches. And once again, in their sixth triumph away from home this season, he emerged as a key player. Krunal Pandya, who had previously made a significant impact with his bowling in other victories, excelled with the bat this time against Delhi Capitals, achieving a stellar unbeaten 73 off 47 balls to lead RCB to the summit of the points table with a six-wicket victory on Sunday.

Assisting Pandya from the other end was Virat Kohli, who secured the win on his home ground. It was advantageous that the Kotla pitch mirrored the old conditions, sticky and compelling the batters to misjudge and chop on deliveries.

RCB’s player identification manager and spin coach Malolan Rangarajan had clarified Kohli’s frequently discussed anchor role within the team setup on the eve of the match, stating, “Every time there’s an opportunity for him to step on the pedal, he does it. ”

However, on Sunday evening, his team required him to fulfill the precisely examined anchor role. He did not need to accelerate the innings. It was a pitch that necessitated careful batting after restricting DC to 162/8, with KL Rahul contributing the highest score of 41.

Though Kohli also had difficulties timing his shots on the pitch, he steadied the chase with a methodical 47-ball 51, allowing Krunal to take the lead. Kohli has accumulated 443 runs in 10 innings and is the top run-scorer in IPL 2025.

Pandya now boasts two IPL fifties – both achieved against Delhi.

In pursuit of 163 for victory, Jacob Bethell – substituting for an ill Phil Salt – partnered with Kohli at the opening. He struck Mitchell Starc for a six and a four, but DC captain Axar Patel, who had taken only one wicket prior to this match, claimed two in a potentially game-altering over.

Karun Nair executed the run out of captain Rajat Patidar, and at that moment, it appeared as though they had severely weakened the chase, reducing the innings to 26/3. Yet, Kohli and Pandya’s 119-run partnership rescued the team from trouble.

After Dushmanta Chameera (1/24) dismissed Kohli in the 18th over, Tim David assumed the finishing responsibilities, scoring a rapid 5-ball 19* to lead the team to victory.

There were differing opinions about the pitch in the lead-up to the match. Given that the surface had yielded thrilling contests in the previous two games, there was a belief that DC needed to elevate their performance to assert dominance at home.

Although Axar’s assessment that the pitch was slow turned out to be correct, DC struggled to outshine their rivals. KL Rahul’s 41 off 39 balls was an innings in which he never appeared comfortable.

Abishek Porel provided DC a swift beginning, smashing 28 off 11 balls, but Hazlewood curtailed his innings early. RCB’s spin pairing of Krunal (1/28) and Suyash Sharma (0/22) tightened their grip during the middle overs, maintaining a check on the run-rate.

With the top and middle order failing, DC required a strong finish. However, neither Karun (4) nor impact substitute Ashutosh Sharma (0) could make a significant difference.

All attention was once more focused on Hazlewood following his exceptional death-overs performance against Rajasthan Royals, and on a sluggish pitch, he seemed poised to replicate his earlier success. Nevertheless, Vipraj Nigam (12) and Tristan Stubbs (34) attacked him in his last over, hitting him for 17 runs. Hazlewood ultimately ended with figures of 2/36.

As Stubbs and Nigam scored 36 runs off Hazlewood and Yash Dayal (1/42) over two overs, DC appeared primed for a larger total. However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar stood out as the leading bowler, finishing with 3/33. His final over was pivotal, conceding only six runs. He secured one wicket along with a run out, stopping DC from even surpassing the 170-mark.

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