David Miller held his nerve in the final over as Delhi Capitals beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by six wickets with a ball to spare.
Needing 15 runs to win from the last six balls in pursuit of 176, South Africa’s Miller whacked two sixes and a four off Romario Shepherd, who had not previously bowled in the innings.
RCB had expertly squeezed Delhi in the middle overs, conceding just 22 between overs 13 to 17, but took a gamble with their frontline bowlers including Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar all bowled out before the death.
Miller’s compatriot Tristan Stubbs finished unbeaten on 60 from 47 balls, having come in with the score 18-3 after Bhuvneshwar ripped through the Delhi top order.
Opener KL Rahul rescued the chase with 57 but his dismissal in the 10th over shifted the momentum back to RCB, who became strong favourites again when Delhi skipper Axar Patel retired hurt on 26, only for Miller to produce his final over heroics.
England’s Phil Salt top-scored with 63 from 38 balls in RCB’s 175-8, but they also struggled in the middle overs after reaching 99-2 after 10.
Delhi’s bowlers chipped in with regular wickets throughout to restrict the defending champions, with Lungi Ngidi, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel claiming two wickets each.