IPL 2025: RCB restrict DC to 162/8 despite Stubbs special

NEW DELHI: Royal Challengers Bengaluru put a squeeze on Delhi Capitals in the middle overs through Josh Hazlewood and the spinners to limit the home team to 162 for 8 in the Indian Premier League here on Sunday.

K L Rahul (41 off 39 balls) was the top-scorer for DC but it was Tristian Stubbs (34 off 18 balls) who helped the hosts post a fighting total.

RCB put the opposition in to bat, expecting better batting conditions during the run chase.

Faf du Plessis (22 off 26 balls) returned from injury to join Abhishek Porel (28 off 11) at the top of the order but it was the latter who ensured DC reached 52 for two in the powerplay.

The southpaw, who has been in fine form this season, came up with a couple of sizzling sixes in his entertaining cameo. Both came off Bhuvneshwar Kumar -- one was a left-handed hit over mid-wicket and the second was a pick-up shot over fine leg.

As veteran du Plessis struggled to get going at the other end, Porel found the ropes with relative ease.

Lead RCB pacer Hazlewood, who has been relentless with his hard lengths, took three balls to get the breakthrough as he cramped Porel to have him caught behind down the leg side.

Karun Nair, who began with a short arm pull off Hazlewood for a boundary, played an ordinary shot off Yash Dayal in the following over and his mishit was pouched at mid-wicket.

The spinners got into operation after the powerplay and overs 7-10 was the phase when RCB were able to stem the flow of runs, conceding just 20 runs off the four overs from Suyash Sharma and Krunal Pandya, who got rid of du Plessis in that period.

It was only towards the end of the innings that DC managed to get some momentum, all thanks to the blitzkrieg from Stubbs.

The 18th and 19th over from Hazlewood and Dayal yielded 17 and 19 runs, enabling DC to cross the 160-run mark.