The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have just run through the Delhi Capitals (DC). The reigning Indian Premier League (IPL) champions have assembled the best powerplay pacers, Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, in the league. The duo showed why they are so highly billed.
Bhuvi & Hazlewood end game in the powerplay
Unlike the last game at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, where the Punjab Kings chased down 265 with relative ease, the pitch in the DC vs RCB match had venom. Bhuvneshwar sent debutant Sahil Parakh back with a silver duck with an inswinging yorker. It was an unplayable delivery that the 19-year-old couldn’t do anything about.
That turned out to be just the start. Hazlewood sent KL Rahul back on his first delivery, as the ball got big on him as he tried to pull. Mind you, Rahul had remained unbeaten on 152 in the previous game. Sameer Rizvi, last ball, edging a full ball outside to Jitesh Sharma. DC were 7/3 after 2 overs. But things were about to get much worse.
Lowest powerplay score in IPL history
| Score | Team | Opponent | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13/6 | Delhi Capitals | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi | 27 April 2026 |
| 14/2 | Rajasthan Royals | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Newlands, Cape Town | 18 April 2009 |
| 14/3 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Rajasthan Royals | MCA Stadium, Pune | 29 March 2022 |
| 15/2 | Chennai Super Kings | Kolkata Knight Riders | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | 7 May 2011 |
| 16/1 | Chennai Super Kings | Delhi Capitals | SVNS International Stadium, Raipur | 12 May 2015 |
| 16/1 | Chennai Super Kings | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | 23 March 2019 |
Bhuvneshwar was swinging the ball miles. Of his first 12 deliveries, he swung the ball more than 2.5 degrees on 7 occasions. In his second over, he sent Tristan Stubbs and Axar Patel back. The DC captain should’ve returned a ball earlier when the ball hit the stumps, but the bails didn’t fall. RCB thought it was an edge and reviewed it, but Axar didn’t get out on the next ball.
Hazlewood bounced Nitish Rana out in the next over, and DC were forced to use Abishek Porel as the impact sub just 23 balls into the match, as the score was 9/6. Porel and David Miller survived the next 2 overs, but DC still registered the lowest powerplay total in IPL history.
Most wickets in powerplay in IPL since 2023
- 32 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Trent Boult
- 28 – Mohammed Siraj/Mohammed Shami
- 24 – Deepak Chahar/Arshdeep Singh
