As it happened - Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Capitals, IPL 2021, Dubai

KS Bharat wins it for RCB off the last ball. Again some sloppy cricket from DC. With two balls and eight required, Avesh nailed a yorker, and Axar misfielded at long-on to allow them a second. Then Avesh bowled a full toss, wide down the leg side. He went for the yorker again, but ended up bowling another full toss, which Bharat hit over long-on. Just over, but still a six. DC can correct these fielding mistakes in the future, but their real problem is Rabada at the death and almost the unavailability of R Ashwin against right-hand batters. To be clear, Ashwin is available, but they don't use him against right-hand batters.

RCB are ecstatic, though. This is a hard-fought win for them with two wickets down in the first three overs and Maxwell struggling physically in the end. With the match-winning 78 off 52, Bharat might have sealed that uncertain No. 3 slot for RCB. That was fun then. Thanks for joining us. See you in the playoffs.

Nortje hasn't bowled much at the death this IPL but after the sensational 19th over, his numbers at the death stand at 38 =balls, 39 runs and two wickets. In this over, he conceded just four. Four deliveries of hard length, one yorker, one low full toss. Banging the pitch hard, bringing all the vagaries of the surface into play. Now 15 required off Avesh's last.

An inside edge for two, a mis-hit along the ground for two, a mis-hit loft for two, a top edge over the keeper for four, and all of a sudden you see Avesh Khan has gone for 12 in the 18th over. That is the nature of the beast called death bowling. Maxwell is either cramping or struggling with some other niggle. On Bharat right now to make some moving as Nortje starts the 19th over.

Fourteen bowlers have bowled 60 balls or more at the death this IPL. At 10.84 an over, Kagiso Rabada has the worst economy rate of them all. In the 17th over, he goes for 15 to give the upper hand to RCB, who now need 31 off the last three. Two of them will be bowled by Avesh Khan, who has gone at just 8.66. Only three bowlers have been more economical.

So Delhi Capitals have got through the dicey Ripal Patel over in the 16th, which has cost them 12 runs, but the interesting thing is that this is Ripal's third over and the is the sixth bowler. One of their specialist bowlers, R Ashwin, has bowled just the one over because RCB is a primarily right-hand batting line-up. Ashwin has dismissed just two right-hand batters this IPL, and one of them was Jayant Yadav having a slog in the last over of the innings. His economy against them: 8.1 an over as against 6.3 against left-hand batters. RCB need 46 in four overs now.

Two overs full of fielding lapses have kept RCB alive in this contest. Glenn Maxwell has been dropped twice, by Iyer and Ashwin, off Axar, and then a misfield at fine leg. Maxwell is 26 off 19, and Bharat has reached 50 off 37. RCB now need 55 off 29, but the real question is, is Maxwell exhausting his luck in a dead rubber?

Knowing RCB, it was a shocking decision that AB de Villiers walked in as early as the third over with only two wickets down. It is only the 11th time that de Villiers has batted this early in the IPL, and only the eighth with RCB. You get a feeling this was just an experiment in a low-stakes game. If there was something on the line, RCB would have sent Dan Christian and Glenn Maxwell in to make sure de Villiers is not exposed early.

In the end, RCB might say they were right as de Villiers gets out to the left-arm spin of Axar Patel for a run-a-ball 26. RCB 55 for 3 in the 10th over.

Anrich Nortje has two wickets in two overs. It looks like a slower ball because Kohli's attempted flick-slog has gone straight up and failed to clear mid-on. On replay, though, this is seam-up and quick, but it has bounced steeply off a length. That tells me 164 is not a bad score on this deck at all. And that has brought in a surprise No. 4, AB de Villiers. Don't remember the last time he batted this early. RCB 11 for 2 after three overs.

Shikhar Dhawan is still nursing his shoulder, who was hurt by a Garton beamer earlier in the match. Interestingly, subbing for him is Steven Smith, which in usual course of events wouldn't be allowed because you can have only four overseas players on the field. However, DC are playing only three of them in their XI so they are allowed to sub one Indian with an overseas player.

On the field, another short ball gets Devdutt Padikkal out, this time on the ramp. The fifth time this IPL that he has got out to a short ball. RCB 4 for 1 in one over.

From 88 for 0, DC go to only 164 for 5 in 20 overs, an effort RCB will be really happy with, but these are pitches where 160 has often been a winning score. Did DC leave some runs out there or was that start above-par from Dhawan and Shaw? Interesting to see how Kohli and Padikkal go. Their intent is always under the scanner.

Commentators who should know better are blowing their lid off on air at the end of the 18th over. Shimron Hetmyer opened the face on a high full toss, which was not called live time, and there is a misfield at the point boundary. The on-field umpire goes upstairs to check if the fielding is clean or of it is a boundary, but everybody else is losing their head on why the third umpire doesn't call the no-ball. Well because the rule says you can check a no-ball with the third umpire only in the case of a dismissal. It is just unfortunate that they had to check the boundary n this very ball, giving everyone an opportunity to lay into the third umpire. And if your logic is, so what if it is not the rule, but he can see it, why does he not call it? Well that's because rules are there to be applied fairly, objectively and all the time. Not selectively when you happen to see it. DC 148 for 4 after 18.

RCB keep fighting back into the game as Mohammed Siraj gets Shreyas Iyer for a run-a-ball 18. We are well into the death overs, but DC have not managed to increasing their run rate dramatically. DC 143 for 4 in 17.4 overs.

Earlier in the match, Shikhar Dhawan was hit on his shoulder by a beamer from George Garton. We just saw him in the dressing room with what looked like an ice pack on.

Also RCB bowlers have applied an ice pack on DC's scoring. The last 16 balls have brought 20 runs and three wickets, those of Dhawan, Shaw and Pant. The Dubai pitch's slowness is up to its tricks again. DC 108 for 3 in 12.4.

RCB have had to wait 10.1 overs for their first wicket, a slower ball from Harshal Patel drawing a high catch from Shikhar Dhawan, who it can be argued, did his job, scoring 43 off 35. DC are 88 for 1. Harshal is now two wickets short of the highest tally for a single IPL, 32 by another slower-ball wizard, Dwayne Bravo.

This is what we have learnt from the Powerplay

1. Glenn Maxwell bowled three overs primarily to bowl to the left-hand batter, Shikhar Dhawan, but Dhawan took him down for 15 runs off 8 balls.

2. RCB still have Powerplay bowling troubles and still have just one PP wicket in the UAE leg.

3. Prithvi Shaw has taken this dead rubber as an opportunity to spend some time in the middle and not go bang bang from ball one. He is still 24 off 17, a higher strike rate than Dhawan, who has looked more aggressive. These are all good signs for DC looking ahead.

RCB came to Dubai needing a huge win batting first to break into the top two. There is no way a chase can give them a win big enough to improve their net run-rate enough to put them in the top two. However, Virat Kohli has won the toss and elected to chase. So that settles the foregone conclusion: DC will face CSK in Qualifier 1 on Sunday.

Both the sides are unchanged.

Delhi Capitals 1 PP Shaw, 2 S Dhawan, 3 SS Iyer, 4 RR Pant (capt. & wk), 5 SO Hetmyer, 6 RV Patel, 7 AR Patel, 8 R Ashwin, 9 K Rabada, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 A Nortje

Royal Challengers Bangalore 1 V Kohli (capt.), 2 D Padikkal, 3 KS Bharat (wk), 4 GJ Maxwell, 5 AB de Villiers, 6 DT Christian, 7 Shahbaz Ahmed, 8 GHS Garton, 9 HV Patel, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 YS Chahal