28 April,2026 11:43 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Krunal Pandya (Pic: File Pic)
In the IPL 2026 match against Delhi Capitals (DC), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) emerged victorious by nine wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
During the match, the Capitals were bowled out for just 75 runs in 16.3 overs, thanks to RCB pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood.
Bhuvneshwar returned with the figures of three wickets for five runs in three overs, whereas Hazlewood claimed four wickets by conceding 12 runs in 3.3 overs.
Following their performances, RCB's star all-rounder Krunal Pandya heaped praise on both pacers by labelling them as 'world-class bowlers'.
"It was unbelievable. Again, world-class bowlers. Seeing them operate from both ends, both sides, they bowled 18-18 balls in the powerplay," he said.
"In the league, we talk a lot about how the batsman is making 200-250 runs, sixes and fours are being hit everywhere. And suddenly a match comes where you see two world-class bowlers doing their thing, where the wicket was not that bad," added Krunal.
He also said that RCB is lucky to have Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar on their team.
"To get six wickets in the powerplay. You have literally taken the game away from the opponent. It was quite fun out there, and we are lucky to have them in our team," said the 35-year-old cricketer.
Along with both the pacers, Rasikh Salam, Suyash Sharma, and Krunal chipped in with one wicket each.
Later, the Bengaluru men chased the target by scoring 77 runs for the loss of one wicket in 6.3 overs. Impact Player, Jacob Bethell, scored 20 runs in 11 balls, including a boundary and two maximums. Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal registered scores of an unbeaten 23 and 34 runs, respectively.
Facing 15 balls, Kohli smashed a boundary and two maximums, whereas Padikkal registered three boundaries and the same number of maximums in his 13-ball knock.
DC's Kyle Jamieson managed to claim one wicket by leaking 42 runs in three overs.
After securing a humongous victory over the Capitals, Bengaluru's favourite men will now gear up to lock horns with the Gujarat Titans (GT) on April 30 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Josh Hazlewood, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Krunal Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Venkatesh Iyer, Phil Salt (WK), Rajat Patidar (C), Nuwan Thushara, Romario Shepherd, Tim David, Devdutt Padikkal, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Salam, Jordan Cox, Jacob Bethell, Vicky Ostwal, Mangesh Yadav, Suyash Sharma, Vihaan Malhotra, Abhinandan Singh, Kanishk Chouhan, Satvik Deswal.
Gujarat Titans: Ishant Sharma, Jos Buttler (WK), Jason Holder, Jayant Yadav, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Tewatia, Luke Wood, Shahrukh Khan, Glenn Phillips, Prasidh Krishna, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Sai Kishore, Shubman Gill (C), Tom Banton (WK), Yarra Raj, Anuj Rawat, Sai Sudharsan, Manav Suthar, Kumar Kushagra (WK), Arshad Khan, Nishant Sandhu, Gurnoor Brar, Ashok Sharma.
(With ANI Inputs)
