Bhuvneshwar, Hazlewood Script Historic Collapse as RCB Thrash Delhi Capitals

In a dramatic turnaround from Saturday’s high-scoring thriller, Delhi Capitals endured one of the most catastrophic batting collapses in Indian Premier League history, folding for just 75 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Monday.

After a pitch that previously produced 529 runs across two innings, the adjacent surface at Delhi offered a completely different challenge. Swing and bounce dominated the powerplay, and RCB’s pace duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood exploited conditions to devastating effect.

Delhi’s innings unraveled almost immediately. Debutant Sahil Parakh was dismissed for a two-ball duck by Bhuvneshwar, who showcased both outswing and inswing in a lethal opening over. Hazlewood then struck twice in his first over, removing KL Rahul and Sameer Rizvi off consecutive deliveries.

Within three overs, DC were reeling at 7 for 5. The situation worsened when Nitish Rana fell to Hazlewood, leaving the side at a shocking 8 for 6. Their powerplay total of 13 became the lowest ever in a full IPL match.

Bhuvneshwar (3-0-5-3) and Hazlewood (3-0-8-3) combined for six wickets in the first six overs, leaving Delhi in complete disarray. Even RCB players appeared stunned by the scale of the collapse.

A brief recovery came through a 35-run stand between Abhishek Porel and David Miller, aided by a short dust storm interruption. Miller, batting unusually at No. 8, contributed 19, while Porel top-scored with a resilient 30 off 33 balls. Their efforts helped DC avoid the ignominy of the lowest IPL total, pushing the score past 49 before being bowled out for 75.

In response, RCB chased down the target with ruthless efficiency. Devdutt Padikkal and Jacob Bethell provided a brisk start, racing to 65 for 1 inside the powerplay. Virat Kohli then sealed the win in style with consecutive sixes, also becoming the first player to cross 9000 IPL runs.

RCB completed the chase with nine wickets in hand and a remarkable 81 balls to spare, significantly boosting their net run rate and closing the gap on table-toppers Punjab Kings to just one point.

The match will be remembered for Delhi’s dramatic collapse—an extraordinary passage of play that resembled a seaming Test session more than a T20 contest.