DC vs RCB IPL 2025: Krunal Pandya’s Redemption, Kohli’s 6th Fifty Hand Royal Challengers Bengaluru A Classic 6-wicket Win

 

DC vs RCB IPL 2025: Krunal Pandya’s Redemption, Kohli’s 6th Fifty Hand Royal Challengers Bengaluru A Classic 6-wicket Win

 

Fans wearing Royal Challengers Bengaluru shirts crowded into every stand of the Arun Jaitley Stadium to watch a Virat Kohli classic during his IPL season debut. The stage was prepared for the "King." In his own garden, a pursuit of 163 appeared to be the ideal fuel to light the ancient "VK18" engine. But Krunal Pandya gave this dramatic narrative the greatest twist ever by changing gears at theprecise moment.

Even though Kohli scored his sixth fifty of the season, Pandya was the star of the show. He rallied after nearly giving up and returned with an undefeated 73, his second-highest IPL score since his debut in 2016. DC had to buckle up before it was too late since RCB triumphed by six wickets.

 

The Kotla strip wasn't simple at all. RCB also had a rough ride as the Delhi Capitals faltered and had their lowest first innings total since 2024. Within the Powerplay itself, the top three—captain Rajat Patidar, impact substitute Devdutt Padikkal, and rookie Jacob Bethell—were back in the hut, forcing Kohli to decide whether to switch to attack mode or anchor.

Pandya, who had one of his poorest innings starts, was with him. With a four from Vipraj Nigam and a six from Dushmantha Chameera, he managed to stumble to 25 off 27 after being at only 2 off the first 8 balls. Despite his best efforts, Krunal was unable to make the connection he sought. The level of dissatisfaction was rising, suggesting that a "retired out" was imminent.


However, in the thirteenth over, the southpaw broke free by hitting consecutive sixes to Mukesh Kumar, and he quickly reached his first fifty of the 2025 Indian Premier League in 38 deliveries. Mitchell Starc created a chance in the 16th over, but Abhishek Porel ended it tragically by dismissing Pandya at deep-mid-wicket for 56.

Although Kohli scored his sixth fifty-plus run this season in ten innings, Pandya remained the center of attention. He persisted in attacking Chameera and Mukesh, bringing RCB one step closer to a resounding victory. The game had nearly slipped away from DC by the time the Lankan speedster got rid of local boy Kohli in the eighteenth over. Tim David's final touches (19* off 5) caused DC to lose in New Delhi for the second time.

 

 

Earlier, neither Abhishek Porel nor Karun Nair were able to contribute significantly, and Faf du Plessis' eagerly awaited return to the starting lineup ended in disappointment. Although Porel displayed some vigor by hitting a four off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the opening ball and two spectacular sixes in the third over, it was like playing with fire when he faced Josh Hazlewood.

Porel's tenure was abruptly ended by the Australian seamer, and Yash Dayal wrote Nair's disappointment as Delhi dropped to 52/2 in the Powerplay.


Despite KL Rahul's heroics in the middle overs, scoring runs still appeared to be a difficult assignment. The wicketkeeper-batter appeared to be struggling under the pressure of the scoreboard due to the lack of help from Du Plessis (22) and Axar Patel (15).

This time, Rahul had to work hard to reach a laborious 41 off 39 balls before Bhuvneshwar came into play with his second stint, in contrast to his fluid knock against the same opponents at Chinnaswamy.

 

Bhuvneshwar Kumar came back for his second spell and completely changed the course of the match just when Delhi needed their most reliable batter to change tactics. He enticed Rahul into a miscalculated shot with a slight change of tempo, which sent him right to Jacob Bethell in the distance.

Delhi's innings was severely weakened by Rahul's exit, but Bhuvi wasn't finished yet. With yet another deft slower ball, he dismissed impact substitute Ashutosh Sharma, producing the innings' most economical over with just three runs and two wickets.

Bhuvneshwar used a brilliant final over to weave magic, but Hazlewood's spell (2/36) ended on a costly note. After a misplaced shot ended his fighting cameo, Tristan Stubbs, who provided a significant boost to DC's stuttering innings, became Bhuvneshwar's third victim.


With an impressive 3 for 33 from his four overs, Bhuvi concluded with 193 IPL wickets, surpassing such greats as Piyush Chawla (192), Sunil Narine (187), R Ashwin (185), and Dwayne Bravo (183).

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