They might have had heady highs and lowly lows in between but Delhi Daredevils ended their season as they began it: let down by their mercurial batsmen after the bowlers kept Royal Challengers Ba
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Commentator: Varun Shetty
12.09am Thanks for joining us tonight, and all the nights before tonight. Today we've seen the last of calculations and scenarios, of permutations and wishing. For those efforts, the IPL gives all of us a day off tomorrow. On Tuesday, we'll have the first qualifier and it's a derby. Mumbai Indians v Rising Pune at the Wankhede, which will be followed by Sunrisers Hyderabad v Kolkata Knight Riders in Bangalore on Wednesday. We'll see you there next. Good night!
Harshal: It hasn't been easy for me, especially with the team losing and me not getting an opportunity to show my form. Got an opportunity in the last game and I really wanted to leave a dent. In the IPL you have a lot of time and you have to utilise it well; I've just been training throughout.
Virat: I just met Matthew Hayden and said I almost instinctively went to him after the game [because he interviews the losing captain]. The guys took today as an opportunity and it worked out. It's been a season to forget, a season to reflect on. We've got a great chance to look at all the things we've done wrong and refresh as a franchise. We do have guys in the 3-5 player bracket who we want to retain if that's possible. They've shown the right attitude and they deserve it. It's just nice to end on a winning note. Both Harshal and Avesh played with a lot of heart. The way Avesh rushed it onto the batsmen on this pitch, something world-class bowlers couldn't do, was impressive. We know Harshal's skillset and he took three big wickets today, it's unfortunate he couldn't play more.
That six, honestly, I was looking to push this between the two fielders to try and pick up two but I think Corey bowled a cross-seam ball. I'm pretty happy with the way I hit the ball today and more happy that I did it in a winning cause.
Aravind: "Negi's difference - 13 runs in the last 4 balls while batting. Defended an identical target in the last 4 balls which bowling."
Joel: "The performance of Negi this IPL is a ray of light in an otherwise bleak campaign. He adds balance to the side can reliably bowl 4 overs and capable with the bat down the order"
Jigar: "So while every other Team defeated RCB, DD failed twice and may be the reason they're not in playoffs otherwise on not so bad season if you add 2 wins to their tally"
Zaheer: This has been the story of the season. When we look back, we can see we needed experience in these sorts of games. When the wicket is slow, you need to go big early.
The action for the day has ended in the IPL, but it has just started in Spain, where both Real Madrid and Barcelona still have a shot at the La Liga title. You can watch both their games live and exclusive at www.espn.in/watch
11.45pm And that's the end of the league stage. Negi took charge of the 20th over in both innings today and he's delivered a win in the end, building on the efforts of Gayle, Kohli, Avesh and Harshal. Something to cheer about for RCB in the end then; the end of a dismal season. Rishabh Pant doesn't manage to take it home against RCB for the second time this season, but once again he found little support on the other end. The inexperienced batsmen played shots not meant for this pitch, the experienced ones looked nervous the whole way through.
S Nadeem c Jadhav b Negi 2 (12m 6b 0x4 0x6) SR: 33.33
Mohammed Shami st †Vishnu Vinod b Negi 21 (16m 9b 3x4 1x6) SR: 233.33
A stumping appeal. Third umpire is looking at this....and it looks very, very close. Shami stepped out and missed a faster one.
Negi will bowl the last over. 13 off 6.
Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli added 66 runs to help Royal Challengers post 161 on a two-paced, sluggish surface at the Feroz Shah Kotla
In his evaluation of the Daredevils campaign, mentor Rahul Dravid said they were done in by their failure to close out tight games, as well as injuries to key players
On a pitch that he expected would offer a lot of turn, Virat Kohli played an innings that steadily amped up his side's scoring rate against Delhi Daredevils
They might have had heady highs and lowly lows in between but Delhi Daredevils ended their season as they began it: let down by their mercurial batsmen after the bowlers kept Royal Challengers Ba
The final game of the league stage will have no bearing on how the playoffs pan out, but neither team would want to bow out with a defeat
