Fifties from Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer and a clinical bowling performance helped Delhi Capitals clinch a playoff berth after their 16-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in Delhi.
Here are the three major takeaways from DC's win over RCB:
RCB's death bowling costs them again
Having got rid of the dangerous Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer in the space of four balls, RCB would have felt good about their chances going into the last four overs. At 131/4 after 16 overs and two new batsmen at the crease, DC were on the back foot.
Although Colin Ingram hit a four and a six off successive balls in the 17th over, Navdeep Saini got rid of him the following ball and DC were 141/5 after 17 overs.
Instead of closing it out against two new lower middle-order batsmen, RCB's bowlers stumbled under pressure as they did everything they shouldn't do. Whether it was bowling full and wide or short on the pads or just plain full toss.
As a result, the last three overs went for 10,16 and 20 and DC finished with 187/5 when a total close to 170 was what RCB would have wanted to chase.
An incredible start goes to waste
There have been a lot of things that RCB have got wrong this season but one of the few that they have done right is having Parthiv Patel open and make the most of the powerplay. This season, only Chris Gayle and Jonny Bairstow have a better strike rate in the powerplay than Parthiv.
Against DC, Parthiv once again showed just why he has been so crucial for RCB this season as he got his side off to a great start in their chase of a big total. Pace, spin, it didn't matter as the southpaw once again got off to a great start and scored seven fours and a six in his 20-ball 39 before he was dismissed off the penultimate ball of the powerplay.
At 64/1 after six overs, RCB had the perfect platform to chase the total but they wasted it. Kohli pulled a half-tracker into the hands of Rutherford and an excellent catch by Axar Patel was the end of an uncharacteristically slow inning from ABD in the 12th over. After that, RCB couldn't recover.
The playoff picture gets clearer
Delhi's win not only helped them go top with 16 points from 12 goals but also helped clinch their playoff berth for the first time in six years. With DC and CSK both on 16 with two games to go, they are through and their clash at Chepauk could well decide who the top two are.
As far as RCB are concerned, they still aren't out of it yet. But with eight points from 12 games, it would take a miracle for them to get back in and a lot of things will have to go their way.