DC vs RCB, 19th Match at Dubai, IPL, Oct 05 2020 - Match Result

That is a really interesting choice for the Man of the Match. Not Shaw or Stoinis, but Axar. For what it's worth, our SmartStats agree that Axar was the MVP. A lot of ribbing and joking between him and Iyer as the captain translates his Hindi answers for the TV. A winning team is a happy team. We end on that note. Okaybye

Axar Patel, the Man of the Match: "The way the wicket was, I knew it was holding up. So I was ready to bowl in the Powerplay. And you can see the results for yourself. I spoke to the batsmen who told me it was stopping at them. So my plan was to bowl my stock ball, but bowl them within the stumps and also keep changing the pace. I was looking to defend when I just started, but when the third ball turned, I changed gears and got into attack mode."

Shreyas Iyer: "Getting four out of five, I will take that any day. Kudos to the boys. Also the temperament shown in pressure situations. Strategy was to play with freedom and be fearless. We have got good youngsters in our team who are filled with energy. Just that we have to go out and execute our talent and skill. It is really important for us to get good recovery after the games. It is not easy when you are in the bio bubble. WE try to get into team activities and get to know each other well. It is really saddening when your senior-most player who has been doing so well misses out. We will miss him, but we have got good replacements as well."

Virat Kohli: "It didn't go our way. They got off to a great start, in the next eight we pulled them back, but the last chase got away from us. As I said, we need to grab important chances. It is not like we are dropping half chances, but sitters. Again the execution at the end was not spot on. Chris was really close to playing today but he didn't rally make it. We have four days before the next game so hopefully he will be ready. The good thing is, we have won three out of five. We know we are playing good cricket. We just need to be professional in those big moments. The conversation around chasing has been to have one big partnership. Wtih dew setting in, if you have eight wicket sin hand in the last 10, the game is on even if you need 100 or more. DC are playing some really good cricket. Their batting is fearless. They have got pace, they have got good spinners. I won't say they are unbeatable, but they will be hard to beat. Against this side, you have to bring your A game. We didn't tonight."

Puneet: "It is clear that young Devdutt will have to bring his A game every night if RCB has to go far in the tournament. He won't be under pressure but it clear RCB goes as far as Devdutt takes them."

DC win by 59. That is a big NRR boost, but also a big blip for RCB. Dominant performance. And the thing with DC is that their batsmen are not under too much pressure because their bowlers are in such red-hot form. They can play within themselves if they have a big PP. And then look for 50 off the last four, and take whatever bonus you get, which you will usually do if you have wickets in hand. They played that plan out to perfection: Shaw and Dhawan give them a big PP; they keep going for it, but if they get out you take it easy in the middle over; and then Stoinis and Pant and Hetmyer unleash in the end. Mind you, we haven't yet seen Pant at his best this season. Then you have Rabada, Nortje, Ashwin, Axar. No weak link. Good luck then going after the fifth bowler, a combination of Harshal and Stoinis

Not sure if Harshal is back on the field to bowl this last over. he is. So he will close this out

RiwajAdhikari: "Never seen someone enjoying bowling as much as Rabada does, in any format, any pitch and any day and just so much willing to accept the challenges. Easily the go to bowler for any team he would play for. "

Saini to face now. No bouncers please

Nortje's last over

Rabada: 4-0-24-4

Saini on strike. Two balls to get a five-for

Saini has not crossed over. Doesn't fancy it when he is being bounced

In comes Saini. Nobody bowl a bouncer or a beamer please. Hat-trick ball for Rabada. Slips come in

"Sid, you really can't blame Kohli, RCB spinners were 5-0-50-1 and with all the misfields and dropped catches, he had very little options to bowl them out anyway. DC have been excellent on field and their batters selected their shots well." Vysakh, you have got to look at what the ball was doing. It turned square for Sundar, who bowls darts. Chahal should be trusted. His one expensive over came in the Poweprlay. And well done on cherry-picking stats and not counting Sundar as a spinner