Shahbaz Ahmed picked up two wickets including Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer which made his day special as both RCB and DC qualified. Delhi Capitals might have won the match but for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed, Shikhar Dhawan was his first IPL wicket which made his day special.
Delhi Capital defeated RCB by six wickets on Monday as both teams qualified for playoffs. Chasing 153 to win, opener Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane shone with the bat for Delhi as both batsmen played stellar knocks of 54 and 60 respectively. Delhi won the match by six wickets with six balls to spare.
Shikhar Dhawan (Image Credit: IPL)
Shahbaz Ahmed Picks 1st Wicket In IPL Of Shikhar Dhawan
Shahbaz Ahmed dismissed set batsman Shikhar Dhawan and Delhi Capitals skipper Shreyas Iyer in the 13th and 17th over respectively. RCB qualified despite losing for having better run-rate as Shahbaz Ahmed picked his first wicket in IPL which was of set in form batsman Shikhar Dhawan.
“Today’s match was crucial for us and it’s good that we had a better run-rate so we have qualified despite the loss. The intensity to win the game is one of the positive for us,” Shahbaz said at the post-match press conference.
Shahbaz Ahmed (Image Credit: PTI)
“The practice camp started before IPL has helped me. And the first wicket in IPL that too of Shikhar Dhawan is a special feeling,” he added.
Having won the toss and bowled first, Delhi Capitals kept on the pressure from the start and didn’t let the RCB batsmen to capitalize. They put on a disciplined show with the ball as they restricted RCB to only 152/7 in their 20 overs at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Shahbaz Ahmed: Wicket Was Good To Bat Especially In Second Innings
Shahbaz Ahmed feels the wicket got a lot better to bat in the second innings and they might have felt 15 runs short of the par score as they managed 152/7 with Devdutt Padikkal scoring 50. Anrich Nortje picked 3/33 and was MOM.
“Wicket was good to bat and eventually became better in the second innings because of dew. We had a discussion, we were actually 15 runs short as the wicket was slow in the first innings,” said Shahbaz.
Anrich Nortje. Image credits: Twitter
With this win, Delhi Capitals have qualified for the playoffs and the side will now get two chances even if they lose the first qualifier to play the finals after finishing second at the IPL 2020 points table. On the other hand, RCB with 14 points from as many matches will surely finish in the top-four in the standings and have also qualified despite losing.
