Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Capitals - Match 19

That ends the action from game 19! Delhi rocket to the top with 8 points while Bangalore are third with 3 wins. Who is playing on Tuesday and where? Is it Sharjah? No. It is not Sharjah. It is Abu Dhabi. Mumbai take on Rajasthan. If Mumbai win, they displace Delhi. But if Rajasthan win, they displace Bangalore! Join us at 6 pm local (1400 GMT) for all the action. ADIOS! TAKE CARE!

AXAR PATEL HAS BEEN NAMED THE MAN OF THE MATCH. Tough choice, with so many decent performances. On him bowling in the Powerplay, Axar says that he was ready to bowl as he was expecting it, given that the wicket was playing slow. On his plans to bowl on the wicket, Axar says that given that the wicket was slow, his plan was to bowl slow, vary with pace and then keep it stump-to-stump. On the mode in his mind when he came on to bowl, Axar says that he started with a defensive mindset but then, when he saw that the ball was turning, adopted an attacking mindset.

Victorious Delhi captain, Shreyas Iyer, is happy with the temperament shown by his team on this day. Says that in team meetings, the message is just to express oneself and just wants to keep this momentum. On the reason for his side's success, Shreyas just puts it down to hard work. Agrees that it is important for the team to get a good recovery after a tough game. Especially in these situations where you cannot do much in a bio-bubble but says that there are entertaining activities held in the hotel. On the mindset after losing a big player such as Amit Mishra, Iyer says that it is a big blow but adds that there are good replacements as well. Further says that they don't want to chop and change and believe in keeping it simple.

Delhi would be mightily pleased. It could have all gone pear-shaped for them, had Marcus Stoinis' chances been grabbed and they could have finished around 150-160. But fortune favours the brave and they rode on to 196, thanks to 30-plus scores from 4 batters. With the ball, everyone was superb, except Harshal Patel who had an off day. Please stay tuned for the remaining aspect of the presentation...

One big aspect was that the opening partnership failed. Padikkal went early and that really hurt the chasing side. AB de Villiers tried counter-attacking but he fell and then captain Kohli had too much to do all alone. He was the only batsman to cross 20, which shows that no one actually spent time in the middle.

So what happened in the game? Pretty one-sided, aye? Bangalore chose to chase, let Delhi off to a flier, curtailed them, only to let them off in the end. When their turn came to bat, they could not quite adjust to the swing in the first two overs, then the grip for the spinners and eventually, the required rate.

Kagiso Rabada is up for a chat now. He says that it is a really good win. Credits that intense game against Kolkata in Sharjah for the better display here, as victory over there gave immense confidence. Believes that they can go into the rest period with full of confidence and come back full of hunger on resumption. On him getting the Purple Cap (leading wicket-taker), Rabada says that all he tries to do is bowl in the right areas and let the rest take care of itself. On his dropped catch of Finch, Rabada says that it is one of those which just pops out. Says that he was looking forward to bowl a longer first spell but respects the captain's wishes. On moving to the 'dead' surface in Sharjah again for their next game, Rabada says that as a bowler, you don't sulk but just be mentally prepared for a tough match. Praises the spinners for squeezing Bangalore in the middle overs here and credits them and his team's batsmen for the win.

Bangalore skipper, Virat Kohli, admits that things did not go as per plan with the Powerplay and the death overs going away from them. But is most disappointed with their fielding as simple catches kept going down. Does not feel that Bangalore bowled poorly in the Powerplay but credits Prithvi Shaw instead for batting better. Believes that they came back well in the middle overs but let Marcus Stoinis off the hook who galloped Delhi close to 200. On the possible team changes for next game, Kohli says that Chris Morris was really close to playing in this game but feels there are 4 days before their next match so they can introspect. Basically, he just wants his side to improve the basic things, especially fielding. Agrees that if they had wickets in hand during the chase, they could have made a fist of the chase. Says that as a batting group, they did well in 3 out of the 5 games played and is confident that going forward, they will look to forge partnerships. On being asked about Delhi, Kohli agrees that they would be hard to beat in the tournament but not unbeatable. Wants his own side to work on improving smaller aspects of the game.

Gosh. 59 runs. Such a massive margin of victory in a T20 game. It is back to the drawing board for Virat Kohli and co. A real pasting and Delhi will be thanking Kohli for choosing to field. 4th win for Delhi and they go atop the table.

Yuzvendra Chahal is the last man in. Harshal Patel will steam in.

Next? Mohammed Siraj. Really looks like an interview where the interviewer is just taking quick interviews.

Who is next in line please? Is it Navdeep Saini? He got hit around the park with the ball. Might just try and enjoy himself. Remember that ODI against New Zealand earlier this year?

There is some drama! There was a massive delay after the Dube wicket because there was a thought that one of the minimum of four fielders required to be inside the 30-yard circle was outside. Ravichandran Ashwin at mid-wicket seemed to be outside the 30-yard circle. The umpires paused the game and referred it upstairs but replays showed that while the bowler was running in, Ashwin was walking inside the circle and when the ball was bowled, he was in. Not a no ball then.

Anrich Nortje has the ball. 2-0-14-1 so far.

DRINKS BREAK. Right. 4 overs left, 82 needed. Any drama left? Guess not. Bangalore might just try and play out their 20 overs and get as close to 150, as possible.

Bit weird. You play a game at one venue on Saturday and then shift to another for a game on Monday. No time to rest. That is how this tournament is! Bangalore and Delhi meet in match 19 of the Indian T20 League, 2020, in Dubai. While the former beat Rajasthan in Abu Dhabi, Delhi emerged victorious in a high-scoring thriller against Kolkata in Sharjah. To be fair to both teams, both have travelled, so no one can have an advantage. Another aspect is that both are coming of clinical wins, so the mindset is happy too. Bangalore shunned the odds against Rajasthan when they aced a chase of 155 on a slow deck while even though Eoin Morgan threatened, Shreyas Iyer's bowlers did well when it mattered on a small ground. Logically, you wouldn't expect either side to make any changes for this encounter, but given that there has been barely any time to rest, the teams might just decide to rest a fast bowler or two. Bangalore's bowlers stood up against Rajasthan but Delhi will be a different kettle of fish. Their batsmen are in better form but that injury to Prithvi Shaw could be a concern. He was hit by a throw on his foot by Pat Cummins and did not field at all. Given that the recovery time is pretty less, Ajinkya Rahane might just slot in. The best news for Bangalore is that Virat Kohli is back amongst the runs. When he gets going in one game, he just transfers that into the matches for the future. So that makes their line-up extremely compact and dominant. It is always interesting to see a match-up between players of the same nation, so Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje vs AB de Villiers would be fun. Also, given their leg-spin issues, do Kohli and de Villiers have answers to the guile of Amit Mishra? A nice contest overall.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Team Squad -Aaron Finch,AB de Villiers,Devdutt Padikkal,Gurkeerat Singh Mann,Virat Kohli,Chris Morris,Moeen Ali,Pavan Deshpande,Shivam Dube,Washington Sundar,Josh Philippe,Parthiv Patel,Adam Zampa,Dale Steyn,Isuru Udana,Mohammed Siraj,Navdeep Saini,Pawan Negi,Shahbaz Ahmed,Umesh Yadav,Yuzvendra Chahal

Delhi Capitals Team Squad -Ajinkya Rahane,Prithvi Shaw,Shikhar Dhawan,Shimron Hetmyer,Shreyas Iyer,Axar Patel,Daniel Sams,Keemo Paul,Lalit Yadav,Marcus Stoinis,Alex Carey,Rishabh Pant,Amit Mishra,Anrich Nortje,Avesh Khan,Harshal Patel,Ishant Sharma,Kagiso Rabada,Mohit Sharma,Ravichandran Ashwin,Sandeep Lamichhane,Tushar Deshpande