RCB vs DD: As it happened...

Called into bat by Virender Sehwag, Daniel Vettori’s side posted a par score of 157 runs at Chinnaswamy stadium replying to which Delhi fell short by 20 runs.

Feroz Khan/Zeenews Sports Bureau

Bangalore: Their total wasn’t a competitive one but inspired performances from their bowlers led by marquee spinner Muttiah Muralitharan got Royal Challengers Bangalore campaign kick off on a winning note against Delhi Daredevils on Saturday. Here is how the match panned out: Highlights from DD innings 7:26 pm Over 20 That’s it for DD. They fell short of RCB’s total by 20 runs. Bangalore led by AB de Villiers and led by marquee spinner Muttiah Muralitharan defended a par total of 157 runs to begin their IPL 2012 campaign on a winning note. 7:22 pm Over 19 Out! This was the final nail in the coffin for Delhi Daredevils. Irfan Pathan’s innings came to an end via a run out. Pathan played one towards deep square leg and went for a double but the fielder Harshal Patel was quicker and his throw sharp. Pathan (24) was caught short of crease. 7:17 pm Over 18 A boundary and four singles off Vinay Kumar’s third over. Not enough for Delhi as they needed to score over 14 runs per over. 7:11 pm Over 17 Out! Daniel Vettori struck in his last ball as he removed ambitious Yogesh Nagar who was caught at backward point. The previous delivery had produced a boundary between midwicket and long on. 7: 04 pm Over 16 Hope for Delhi. Irfan Pathan continued his exploits with the bat as he struck Murali for a huge six over long off. He then came down the track for a boundary towards wide long on. The over went for 14 runs. 7:01 pm Over 15 The over brought a much needed boundary for DD. But that was it for them as the over went for just six runs. 6:54 pm Over 14 Out! Venugopal Rao looked to hit one above long off but the timing wasn’t there and Mayank Agarwal came charging in, dived forward to complete an excellent catch. Delhi lost their fifth batsmen. Required Run Rate was just over 12 rpo. 6:47 pm Over 13 Just four runs from right arm medium Harshal Patel’s over. Score: 80/4 6:41 pm Over 12 Out! Muralitharan removed Glenn Maxwell to pick his third wicket of the innings. Maxwell attempted a sweep but only managed to get a top edge that was caught easily by Zaheer Khan at short fine leg. Terrific stuff from the Sri Lankan! 6:37 pm Over 11 Just four runs from the over. Spinners were perfectly keeping the batsmen in check. 6:36 pmOver 10 Out! Murali magic continued as he removed dangerous Aaron Finch. Finch(25) was trapped in front as the ball was spinning in from outside off. Just two runs and a wicket from the over. 6:27 pm Over 9 A boundary and four singles from Vettori’s second over. Score 66/2 6:24 pm Over 8 Out! Murali was introduced into the attack and he struck straight away. Naman Ojha slashed hard but got a thick outside edge that was caught sharply by Virat Kohli at slips. He could have got him in his first delivery but for de Villiers who muffled a simple catch behind the wickets. 6:20 pm Over 7 McDonald missed a difficult chance at point as Finch flashed hard at Vettori but couldn’t hold on to it. Seven runs from the over. 6:17 pm Over 6 A boundary and two singles from the over. McDonald managed to keep Finch quiet. 6:12 pm Over 5 Good contest between bat and ball this! Zaheer found the length and kept Naman Ojha quiet but not for long as he collected two boundaries from the over. Eight runs from the over. 6:07 Over 4 Excellent stuff from Vinay Kumar. He was mixing it well to keep the batsmen guessing as the over went for just 2 runs. 6:03 pm Over 3 Good comeback from Zaheer as he conceded just six runs. 5:58 pm Over 2 Vinay got the right length that Zaheer was struggling to find and no runs were scored off his first three deliveries. But big hitting Naman Ojha played a upper cut past the slip over third man for a boundary and dismissed the next one into the crowds for a six towards deep backward square leg. 5:54 pm Over 1 Out! What an eventful start to the Delhi chase! First Aaron Finch smashed Zaheer Khan for three consecutive boundaries off his first three deliveries and then Khan struck back with the wicket of Virender Sehwag. A width outside off and Sehwag cut it hard but was caught by Pujara at covers. He went for a first ball duck. Highlights from RCB innings 5:36 pm Over 20 Not too sure who dominated the over as de Villiers and Vinay Kumar hit Bracewell for two boundaries and in the process collected ten runs from the first four deliveries. Bracewell struck back with the wickets of Vinay Kumar (caught at covers by Morkel) and Harshal Patel (bowled) of his last two deliveries. Score: 157/8 5: 30 pm Over 19 AB de Villiers smacked a six and two consecutive boundaries off Pathan’s first three deliveries. The first shot was quite exotic as de Villiers produced a six off a reverse sweep. The over produced 18 runs. de Villiers brought up his fifty with a six. 5:25 pm Over 18 RCB batsmen were dealing in singles and doubles. The over from Morkel went for eight runs (4 singles and 2 doubles). 5:21 Over 17 A top shot from de Villiers to end Pathan’s over. Pitched full and de Villiers went down on one knee to guide the ball to fine leg for a boundary. It was a fine over from Pathan otherwise as he conceded eight runs. 5:13 pm Over 16 Nadeem bowled a tidy over giving away just five runs. Score: 108/6 5:08 pm Over 15 Out! A poor running from RCB batsmen as Daniel Vettori was caught short of his crease at the non-strikers’ end. Vettori missed and the ball went towards square leg after getting deflected from the keeper's gloves. Bracewell picked up the ball and threw it straight into the hands of Maxwell at the non-striker's end. RCB lost their sixth wicket with 103 runs on board. 5:04 pm Over 14 Bracewell’s over was ruined by de Villiers in the penultimate ball as he clubbed him for a six over long-off. The over went for 11 runs. 4:59 pm Over 13 Out! Agarwals’s over-aggression proved to be the reason for his downfall! He was holed out at long-off by Yogesh Nagar after going for a maximum off Nadeem’s second delivery. He departed after scoring 16 runs as RCB lost their fifth wicket. 4:55 pm Over 12 Agarwal showed intent and aggression as he dispatched Morkel into the crowds over the midwicket region for a six. Morkel gave away 10 runs. 4:52 pm Over 11 Agarwal opened up his arm and cut Umesh Yadav’s bouncer wide of third man for a boundary. Six runs from the over. 4:49 pm Over 10 AB de Villiers and Mayank Agarwal were at the crease looking to steer RCB out of trouble. The over from Nadeem produced six runs. 4:44 pm Over 9 Out! Saurabh Tiwary was trapped in front of the wickets by Glenn Maxwell. It was a poor decision from the umpire though as the ball struck Tiwary on the pads after a huge inside edge. RCB looked in trouble as they lost their fourth wicket after just 59 runs on the board. 4:40 pm Over 8 Out! Bracewell got the big fish and removed Virat Kohli. Pitched outside off and Kohli opened the face of the bat playing it straight into the hands of Nagar at backward point. RCB lost their third wicket. 4: 37 Over 7 AB de Villiers came to the crease and joined Virat Kohli to steer RCB’s innings. The over from Nadeem produced nine runs. 4:33 Over 6 Out! Morkel struck again and this time he removed dangerous McDonald who had already dispatched his fourth delivery for a boundary. McDonald looked to pull one from outside off and top edged it to be caught brilliantly by Maxwell. The over produced five runs. RCB lost their second wicket. 4:30 pm Over 5: A decent start from Umesh Yadav who gave away just four runs though Irfan Pathan dropped a simple chance at mid-on. 4:25 pm Over 4 Out! Morne Morkel struck in his first over and got the wicket of Cheteshwar Pujara. A short ball from Morkel and Pujara pulled it towards deep backward square leg where Pathan was stationed to complete a simple catch. Pujara started the over with a boundary straight past the bowler. The over produced seven runs. 4:21 pm Over 4 Out! Morne Morkel struck in his first over and got the wicket of Cheteshwar Pujara. 4:16 pm Over 3 McDonald took the charge dispatching Pathan all over the park! 4,4,6,4 is how Pathan’s last four deliveries read as McDonald looked in dangerous touch. The over produced 19 runs. 4:12 pm Over 2 An eventful over from Doug Bracewell. He didn’t give too much width to the batsmen, bowling on good length area and nearly got the wicket of McDonald who was dropped by Maxwell at cover point. Adding insult to injury, McDonald flayed Bracewell’s next delivery for a six past cover point. The over produced seven runs. 4:07 pm Over 1 Andrew McDonald and Cheteshwar Pujara opened for RCB as Irfan Pathan started proceedings for Delhi. It was a nice over from Pathan as he got swing and gave away just four runs. Delhi captain Virender Sehwag won the toss and invited Bangalore to bat first. Bangalore’s star bastman, Chris Gayle will not be playing today’s match.