Shepherd failed to defend 15 runs for RCB in the last over against Stubbs and Miller of DC.
When asked to bat first, RCB only managed 175/8 in 20 overs, with Phil Salt (63 off 38) being the only notable contributor with wickets, while Lungi Ngidi, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel all took two wickets for DC.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's outstanding opening spell reduced DC to 18/3. However, Miller's brilliant finishing (22* off 10 balls), coupled with Rahul's (57) and Stubbs' (60*) half-centuries, helped DC win the game by 6 wickets.
One of the most talked about points was all-rounder Romario Shepherd bowling the final over for RCB with 15 runs to defend. He was hit for two sixes and one four in the over by Miller to take DC to the win.
According to RCB Director of Cricket Mo Bobat, Shepherd bowled the final over because the team needed to bowl players like Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar earlier than usual in order to stay in the match.
“There comes a point in a game where you feel like you’re behind the game. So, to get yourself back in that game or maybe even get ahead of the game, you have to use your champion bowlers. So, we felt that we had to bowl both Hazlewood and Bhuvi when we did, to try and make it as difficult as possible later in the game.
Obviously, that involves a bit of a risk. It was a tough ask for Romario, bowling that last over to two international batters and two international finishers. So, it was always going to be a tough ask, but we had to take the game as deep as possible,” Bobat said in the post-match press conference.
RCB’s score of 175/8 in 20 overs proved to be less than ideal, and Bobat admitted that the 2025 IPL champions could’ve gotten more runs on the board.
“I wouldn’t put a number on it, but my instinct is we were short with the bat. I think we should have gotten more runs than we got. I wouldn’t necessarily put a number on it. The boys did a good job of trying to defend it, but not quite good enough,” he said.
However, Bobat was all praise for veteran seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, whose three wickets got RCB the start they were hoping for.
“He was brilliant today. I actually think he’s got a bit more zip than last season. That early spell from him got us going and gave us a chance of defending that score. He’s someone we can rely on, at either end of the innings, and he has backed it up every game so far. It is nice having someone in the attack who is dependable, has new-ball skills, and can bowl through the middle and at the death. He gives us everything across phases,” he added.