The feeble effort was the lowest score posted by any team in the IPL this season, and the writing was on the wall early for a side who entered the match sitting third in the table.
South African quick Marco Jansen took three wickets in the second over of the Bangalore innings on his way to figures of 3-25, removing Faf du Plessis (5), Anuj Rawat (0) and Virat Kohli (0) to earn man-of-the-match honours. The out-of-form Kohli has made just 13 runs across his last four IPL innings.
Indian medium-pacer T Natarajan weighed in with 3-10, as only two batsmen reached double figures for Bangalore, with Glenn Maxwell making 12 and Suyash Prabhudessai top-scoring with 15.
The innings was all done in 16.1 overs, and Sunrisers charged to their target at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, with Abhishek Sharma rattling along to 47 from 28 balls, playing the dominant role as captain Kane Williamson watched admiringly from the other end.
Sharma fell when he looked to hit a match-winning six, caught inside the ropes by Rawat off Harshal Patel, but new batsman Rahul Tripathi blasted a maximum to make sure as Sunrisers reached 72-1 in just eight overs. Sunrisers climb above Bangalore thanks to this victory, jumping to second with five wins from their seven games.
Duck despair strikes again for Kohli
Kohli has been dismissed from the first ball he has faced in each of his last two IPL innings. He went this way against Lucknow Super Giants on April 19, and this is the first instance of him recording a golden duck in consecutive games in the competition.
Bangalore mark anniversary in grim style
Saturday marked five years exactly since Bangalore were dismissed for their lowest score in IPL history, when they were demolished for just 49 when chasing 132 for victory against Kolkata Knight Riders. Kohli made a first-ball duck that day, too.
Over two months after the IPL was due to get under way, there remains uncertainty over the event taking place this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
There are also doubts about whether the T20 World Cup will start in October as scheduled, while the Asia Cup in September remains under threat as well.
Brijesh Patel, chairman of the IPL's governing council, says a September start is a possibility if the T20 World Cup in Australia and the Asia Cup do not go ahead, and the event could be played behind closed doors.
"Yes, we are looking at those dates, but it all depends on the future of the T20 World Cup and the Asia Cup. Subject to that, we are planning [for games in September and October]," Patel told the Indian Express.
"Again, it depends on how the situation is in September-October. We have to go by the government directive. First we need the go-ahead from the government."
Patel added that playing matches without a crowd would not be an issue.
He said: "You can't play a World Cup in empty stadiums. But the IPL being a league, it can be staged behind closed doors. The official broadcaster is okay with that and so are the players because they want to play."
Kolkata Knight Riders chief executive Venky Mysore on Friday stated that it is vital the best players from overseas can feature in the IPL.
"The quality of the product is what has made it really, really special," he said. "I think it is safe to say that the collective view is that we have to have the tournament in its full format; the same number of games, with all the players part of it."
The ECB confirmed on Monday the receipt of an official 'Letter of Intent' from the competition organisers, although the deal must still be ratified by the Indian government.
The switch amid the coronavirus pandemic has long been rumoured, with the IPL eyeing a start date of September 19. The final would take place on November 8.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases are still growing in India, swelling to well over a million, the third-most across the globe.
The ECB has already started making plans to step in, as secretary general Mubashshir Usmani said: "There are many factors which influence the operations and logistics of hosting what is the world's most exciting, popular and lucrative tournament.
"This is a massive movement of people and equipment and we now need to bring in the experts to discuss all aspects of UAE hosting the IPL."
The UAE co-hosted the 2014 competition as the IPL clashed with India's general election, raising security concerns.
Chasing a target of 164-5, it looked likely that Virat Kohli's men would fall short until a dramatic final over in Dubai.
With six runs needed off the final ball, Avesh Khan (0-31) bowled a wide to give Bharat one more chance, and his final full toss was powered over the ropes to give the Royal Challengers a seven-wicket win.
The Capitals started in commanding fashion after being put in to bat, Prithvi Shaw (48) and Shikhar Dhawan (43) combining for 88 until the latter was caught at mid-off.
Captain Rishabh Pant fell for just 10 runs shortly after Shaw sliced a shot straight to George Garton, with Shreyas Iyer (18) and Shimron Hetmyer (29) helping to push the target score into tricky territory.
When Devdutt Padikkal went for a golden duck and Kohli followed after posting just four runs, the Royal Challengers' task began to look firmly beyond their means.
That was until the intervention of Glenn Maxwell (51) and man-of-the-match Bharat. An unbeaten 78 off just 52 deliveries, aided by some lacklustre work in the field, kept the improbable in sight even after AB de Villiers' promising knock of 26 was ended before the midway point of the innings.
Maxwell reached his half-century to start the final over before Bharat's heroics sparked wild celebrations.
More Capitals gains for Kohli
The Capitals were on a run of just one defeat in seven IPL matches but came unstuck against arguably their least-favourite opponents.
The Royal Challengers have won 16 of 25 completed matches in the competition against Delhi – against no side have they won more.
It was a frustrating way for the Capitals to head into Sunday's first qualifier with the second-place Chennai Super Kings, while the Royal Challengers will be buoyed ahead of their eliminator with the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Two grand batters
Maxwell's 51, which included eight fours, saw him become the eighth Australian to reach 2,000 runs in the IPL.
Dhawan also surpassed the 2,000-run mark, a feat only achieved previously by three players for the Capitals in the competition.
Cricket South Africa announced following the Test series defeat to England this week Boucher was set to step down to "pursue other opportunities in line with his future career and personal objectives".
The 45-year-old has quickly secured a new role in the Indian Premier League, joining Mumbai for the 2023 season.
"It is an honour and privilege to be appointed as head coach of MI," Boucher said in an Indians statement.
"Their history and achievements as a franchise clearly put them up there as one of the most successful sporting franchises in all of world sport. I look forward to the challenge and respect the need for results.
"It's a strong unit with great leadership and players. I look forward to adding value to this dynamic unit."
Mumbai posted a modest 150-5 from their allocation on Saturday with the total boosted largely to some valuable late-order hitting from Kieron Pollard.
Jonny Bairstow (43 off 22) laid a solid platform for Hyderabad's reply with an aggressive knock alongside the more cautious David Warner (36 off 34).
But both men departed to soft dismissals before India leg-spinner Rahul (3-19) stifled the middle order and Boult (3-28) blew away the tail as Hyderabad were bowled out for 137.
Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma (32) and fellow opener Quinton de Kock (40) made good use of the powerplay after they had elected to bat first as they picked up length well, punishing anything short, on a slow pitch in Chennai.
Mumbai's innings stuttered in the middle overs as Vijay Shankar (2-19) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2-29) put the brakes on before Pollard (35 not out) whacked 16 crucial runs off the last over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Boult and Jasprit Bumrah initially made life tough for Hyderabad before Bairstow exploded in with a brutal assault, striking three fours and four sixes before he stepped on his stumps trying to work a ball from Krunal Pandya.
Hyderabad skipper Warner was then run out and Rahul's leggies swung the momentum Mumbai's way with three wickets before Boult and Bumrah (1-14) proved formidable at the death.
The victory took Mumbai top of the table, until Sunday at least, while Hyderabad are languishing at the bottom.
Sunrisers need more from Bairstow and Warner
In the third over of their reply, England's Bairstow launched a towering six off Boult straight down the ground which shattered the glass on a drinks fridge next to the Sunrisers' dugout.
His 43 off 22 balls got Hyderabad's reply off to a great start while Australian Warner played a more methodical innings to put his side within striking distance.
Both openers, however, were out to soft dismissals – Warner made a daft call for a single while Bairstow was out hit wicket – and the pair need to place greater value on their wickets.
Boult and Bumrah masterful
Rahul caught the eye with his with his leg spin as he removed the top-six wickets of Manish Pandey, Virat Singh and Abhishek Sharma.
But at the business end of the game New Zealand left-armer Boult and India paceman Bumrah, who did not concede a single boundary, gave an exhibition in how to bowl at the death to snuff out any lingering Hyderabad's hopes.
That was backed up by some superb fielding from Hardik Pandya, who prowled the infield sharply and claimed two run outs including Warner.
The specialist death bowler sustained the latest setback, a groin injury, in action against the Delhi Capitals on Saturday. Bravo was as a result unable to bowl the final over for the team, which in the end saw CSK lose by 5 wickets with one ball to spare. As of now, it is unknown how long the player will be out of action.
"He seems to have a right groin injury, I think, and it was obviously serious enough to keep him off the field," CSK head coach Stephen Fleming explained at the post-match press conference.
"He's obviously desperately disappointed that he couldn't bowl the last over - that's what he's pretty much in the team for. He will have to be reassessed going forward, but at this stage, you'd imagine it's going to take a few days or a couple of weeks, but we will assess that tomorrow."
Bravo had arrived for IPL duty in the UAE with an entirely different injury, a knee problem sustained during this season’s CPL. He missed the Super Kings' first three games, as the team had decided to take extra caution.
Since his re-introduction, however, the player has made an impact, impressing with his yorkers and slower variations in the Super Kings' return fixture against the Sunrisers and the Kolkata Knight Riders and providing more depth to both the bowling attack
RCB slumped to a nine-wicket loss at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders after they were bowled out for only 92 on Monday in their first game since the tournament resumed.
They looked set to post an imposing total at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday after Devdutt Padikkal (70 off 50 balls) and captain Virat Kohli (53 from 41) put on 111 for the first wicket, but could only finish with 156-6.
Bravo (3-24) and Shardul Thakur (2-29) put the brakes on as Kohli's third-placed side lost their way after the start had been delayed due to a sandstorm.
An opening stand of 71 from 8.2 overs between the in-form Gaikwad (38 off 26) and Faf du Plessis (31 from 26) set CSK on their way to a seventh win in nine matches.
Ambati Rayudu (32) and Moeen Ali (23) also chipped in before vastly experienced duo Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni got the Super Kings home with 11 balls to spare, moving them above Delhi Capitals on net run-rate.
OPENERS LAY RCB FOUNDATIONS
The dangerous Padikkal and Kohli got RCB off to a great start after they were put in by MS Dhoni, taking 55 off the powerplay.
Padikkal was the first to raise his bat, bringing up his sixth IPL half-century by dispatching Deepak Chahar for four, and Kohli struck Ravindra Jadeja to the boundary to reach his fifty soon after.
RCB lost their way after Kohli was removed by Bravo in the 14th over, with Padikkal - who struck three sixes - falling straight after Shardul Thakur got rid of AB de Villiers in the South Africa legend's 150th match for just 12.
GAIKWAD IN GREAT NICK
Gaikwad made a brilliant unbeaten 88 in CSK's victory over defending champions Mumbai Indians and the opener maintained his form five days later.
The 24-year-old and Du Plessis got the Super Kings ahead of the rate in a great start to the run chase, the South Africa batsman clearing the ropes twice and Gaikwad hitting one six.
Both batsman fell in consecutive overs, but CSK kept wickets in hand and stayed ahead of the rate, with Raina and Dhoni finished off the job.
CSK won the toss and elected to bat and must have been regretting that decision after they got off to a disastrous start slumping to 24-4 by the end of the Powerplay as Trent Boult and Adam Milne wreaked havoc on their top order.
In dire straits, Chennai owed their recovery to 156-6 to Man-of-the-Match Putara Gaikwad, who scored an unbeaten 88 from 58 balls. Gaikwad hit nine fours and four sixes as he successfully balanced prudence with aggression while stitching together a critical fifth-wicket partnership of 81 with Ravindra Jadeja.
Jadeja faced 33 balls before Jasprit Bumrah had him caught by Kieron Pollard for 26.
Gaikward and Bravo, who was playing his 100th match for CSK, put up an additional 39 for the sixth wicket with the latter scoring 23 off just eight balls. Bravo, who last week led St Kitts and Nevis Patriots to their first Hero CPL title, hit three sixes before he became Bumrah’s second victim going for another big hit over cover.
Bumrah returned figures of 2-33, while Milne and Boult, who did the early damage, ended with figures of 2-21 and 2-35, respectively.
Chasing 157 for victory, Bravo took 3-23 to restrict Mumbai to 136-8, despite an unbeaten even 50 from Saurabh Tiwary.
Two wickets from Deepak Chahar had Mumbai in early trouble at 37-3 inside six overs.
Tiwary tried to keep the innings together but Mumbai lost wickets regularly mainly via Bravo’s intervention. The veteran Trinidadian was also instrumental in running out the dangerous Krunal Pandya for four that had the defending champions in trouble at 94-6.
Bravo then took the wickets of Milne for 15 and Chahar for a duck to seal the victory.
The New Zealand skipper scored just 216 runs from 13 innings at an average of 19.64 in the IPL this year.
Sunrisers on Tuesday announced that Williamson has not been retained by the franchise, who finished eighth last season.
Nicholas Pooran and Sean Abbott are among the other players who have not been kept on by Hyderabad.
It was also the end of an era for Mumbai Indians, with Kieron Pollard calling time on his IPL playing days and taking over as the franchise's batting coach.
Kolkata Knight Riders will have to do without Pat Cummins, Alex Hales and Sam Billings after the overseas trio opted out of the 2023 tournament.
Dwayne Bravo and Chris Jordan were among the players on the Chennai Super Kings' list of released players, while Jason Holder will not feature for Lucknow Super Giants.
Black Caps duo Daryl Mitchell and Jimmy Neesham will not return to Rajasthan Royals, while the same goes for South Africa batter Rassie Van Der Dussen.
While Pooran, Pollard, who announced his IPL retirement earlier on Tuesday, and Super Kings' Dwayne Bravo were the most high-profile West Indians not retained, there were several other younger players from the Caribbean who were released by their teams.
Along with Pooran, Sunrisers Hyderabad let go of Romario Shepherd, Lucknow Super Giants released Jason Holder and Evin Lewis, Mumbai released Fabian Allen, Royal Challengers Bangalore let go of Sherfane Rutherford, Punjab released Odean Smith and Gujarat Titans did not retain Dominic Drakes.
On the flip side, several West Indians were retained by their franchises.
Obed McCoy and Shimron Hetmyer were retained by the Rajasthan Royals, Alzarri Joseph was retained by defending champions the Gujarat Titans, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine will once again suit up for the Kolkata Knight Riders, Kyle Mayers was retained by Lucknow Super Giants and Rovman Powell was retained by the Delhi Capitals.
The released players will get their chance to be snapped up by another franchise at the IPL player auction which will be held on December 23 in Kochi.
After losing five of their opening seven matches, this was realistically a must-win contest for last year's IPL runners-up, and their 167-6 paved the way for a 20-run victory.
When Sunrisers got to 141-6 by the end of the 18th over, this clash in Dubai was in the balance, but Shardul Thakur and Dwayne Bravo applied the brakes to concede only six further runs.
Kane Williamson made 57 from 39 balls for Sunrisers, but they finished on 147-8, with the result meaning they are joined on six points from eight games by Chennai, both sides still in with a shot of finishing in the top four.
Chennai began the game on the front foot, with Sam Curran bumped up the order to open. His pinch-hitting role bore fruit, with the English all-rounder cracking 31 before he was bowled by Sandeep Sharma from the 21st ball he faced.
Shane Watson weighed in with 42 and Ambati Rayudu added 41, with their third-wicket partnership worth 81, and runs continued to flow.
Hyderabad captain David Warner made a nervy start with the bat in the reply and it was no surprise that he fell cheaply, caught and bowled by Curran.
At 93-3 after the 14th over, Sunrisers were off the pace, with Jonny Bairstow (23) having also gone early. Williamson kept them in it, striking seven fours before he holed out to Thakur at long-on off Karn Sharma's bowling.
Sunrisers took 15 runs in a four-ball purple match, Rashid Khan and Shahbaz Nadeem cutting loose. But crucially Thakur gave away just four runs off the bat, plus a wide, in the 19th over.
Rashid perished to the final ball of that over, given out hit-wicket after stepping back onto his off stump when taking a mighty swipe, before Bravo conceded just a single from an outstanding final set of six.
Bravo for Bravo
He gave credit to Thakur after the match, citing the 19th over of the Hyderabad innings as the key to victory, but Bravo (2-25) was nevertheless terrific when thrown the ball for the finale. Having Nadeem caught and bowled off a desperate slog killed the game, nailing a big win for CSK.
Dhoni goes the distance
Chennai skipper MS Dhoni added 21 handy runs at the end of his team's innings, and one shot will live long in the memory. T Natarajan sent down a delivery that was close to being a yorker but left Dhoni with just enough room to shuffle his feet and club the ball over long-on and into the top tier of the stand, a shot that was said to have travelled 102 metres. He was out next ball, mind.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India and Indian Premier League Governing Council confirmed the news in a joint statement on Tuesday after reports of COVID cases in three teams.
Kolkata Knight Riders duo Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier tested positive, forcing Monday's game against Royal Challengers Bangalore to be rescheduled.
Reports also suggest Sunrisers Hyderabad wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha tested positive, leading to the whole team having to isolate, while there were two reported cases in the Chennai Super Kings team.
"The Indian Premier League Governing Council (IPL GC) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in an emergency meeting has unanimously decided to postpone IPL 2021 season, with immediate effect," a statement read.
"The BCCI does not want to compromise on the safety of the players, support staff and the other participants involved in organising the IPL. This decision was taken keeping the safety, health and well-being of all the stakeholders in mind.
"These are difficult times, especially in India and while we have tried to bring in some positivity and cheer, however, it is imperative that the tournament is now suspended and everyone goes back to their families and loved ones in these trying times.
"The BCCI will do everything in its powers to arrange for the secure and safe passage of all the participants in IPL 2021.
"The BCCI would like to thank all the healthcare workers, state associations, players, support staff, franchises, sponsors, partners and all the service providers who have tried their best to organise IPL 2021 even in these extremely difficult times."
India has seen a sharp rise in COVID numbers in the country in recent weeks, with the total number in excess of 20 million since the start of the global pandemic.
The England batter failed in his first three IPL knocks, but he struck a sublime unbeaten 100 from 55 balls to get Sunrisers up to an imposing total of 228-4 at Eden Gardens on Friday.
Brook hit three sixes and 12 fours to register the first IPL hundred of the season, while captain Aiden Markram blasted 50 from 26 deliveries and Abhishek Sharma made a brisk 32 after KKR skipper Nitish Rana put Sunrisers in.
Rapid half-centuries from Rana (75 from 41) and Rinku Singh (58 off 31) gave the Knight Riders hope, but they fell short on 205-7 as Hyderabad secured a second successive win following back-to-back defeats.
Andre Russell (3-22) dismissed Mayank Agarwal and Rahul Tripathi in his first over before the all-rounder left the field with an injury, with Brook and Markram then putting on 72 to silence a huge crowd.
Brook was dropped by Suyash Sharma on 45 and that proved to be costly, while Markram cleared the rope five times before he was caught off the bowling of Varun Chakravarthy in the deep.
The classy Brook stepped on the accelerator to reach three figures and Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz at the start of the run chase.
Marco Jansen (2-37) reduced KKR to 20-3 and they were 96-5 when Russell departed, but Rana and Rinku made a game of it with a stand of 69.
Their fireworks were in vain, though, Mayank Markande taking 2-27 and Kumar keeping it tight with 1-29 as KKR suffered a second loss.
Brook pays off part of his price tag
Sunrisers forked out 13.25 crore (£1.325million) to land the sought-after Brook in the auction and he demonstrated exactly why in his fourth IPL match.
Having made only 29 combined in his previous three innings, the 24-year-old carried his bat after reaching 50 off 32 balls and racing to a century from 55.
Brook took 23 off an over from Lockie Ferguson, the runs flowing on both sides of the wicket in a brilliant exhibition of batting.
Rana in the runs again
Rana registered his 16th IPL half-century in a run-fest, cashing in on a great pitch.
This was his fourth score of 50 or more against Sunrisers, but it was not enough to pull off what would have been a record IPL run chase.
The Royals were beaten by the Titans in the first qualifier, forcing them to face Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday for a place in the season's showpiece.
Buttler ensured RCB were soundly beaten, smashing an unbeaten 106 off 60 balls to clinch a seven-wicket victory.
The Royals still had 11 balls to spare when Buttler's sixth six completed the job on 161-3.
None of the England star's team-mates had to pass 25 runs as he did all the heavy lifting in partnerships of 61 with Yashasvi Jaiswal, 52 with Sanju Samson, 35 with Devdutt Padikkal and 13 with Shimron Hetmyer in reply to RCB's 157-8.
A stunning Buttler catch had removed the dangerous Rajat Patidar (58) in the outstanding moment of the RCB innings, too, as his almost single-handed pursuit of the title continued.
Buttler blowing away the competition
This has long since been Buttler's best IPL campaign, and there remains a slim chance he also takes the tournament record. In pursuit of Virat Kohli's 973 runs in 2016, he moved on to 824 for this tournament with his fourth century. The rest of the players in this year's IPL have produced only four hundreds between them.
As well as the most runs in the 2022 IPL, Buttler leads the way for fours (78, 26 clear of second place) and sixes (45, 11 clear).
Top two tussle once again
This will be the Royals' first final since the inaugural IPL in 2008, when they took the title, but Rajasthan will have their work cut out against a Titans side who are in their debut season.
Gujarat finished two points ahead of the second-placed Royals in the points table, having won the match between the pair by 37 runs. The margin in the subsequent qualifier was seven wickets. Buttler top-scored for Rajasthan on both occasions, but their opponents have collectively shown they have the firepower to match him.
In the end, Glenn Maxwell agonisingly missed out on a six that would have forced a Super Over.
Kings XI had looked to be cruising towards a target of 165 but, just as they did in their previous match with Chennai Super Kings, some excellent death bowling turned the tide in Kolkata’s favour.
It left Maxwell needing a six off the final ball to prolong a see-saw contest and while he lofted a ball high over cover, it dropped just shy of the rope for four in a remarkable finish.
The Knight Riders have eight points from their six matches while Kings XI have just one win from seven outings.
A 29-ball 58 from captain Dinesh Karthik helped Kolkata post a useful target, Shubman Gill (57 off 47) also providing a valuable half-century.
It appeared as if their efforts would be in vain, as KL Rahul (74) and Mayank Agarwal (56) combined for a first-wicket stand of 115.
Even when Agarwal eventually fell to Prasidh Krishna (3-29) there appeared little sign of a turnaround, Nicholas Pooran coming to the crease after a sparkling 77 against Sunrisers Hyderabad last time out.
However, the game turned when Pooran was undone by a slower ball from fellow West Indian Narine, departing for 16 as Kings XI stuttered badly as the pressure mounted. With 14 required off the final over, KKR opted for Narine and he conceded 11 runs to win the match for his side.
FELL APART TO THE SEAMERS
The excellent Prasidh utilised an off-cutter to dismiss Prabhsimran Singh (4), then drew an inside edge from Rahul to leave Kings XI needing 14 off the final over.
When Mandeep Singh holed out from the penultimate delivery, it was left to Maxwell to rescue Kings XI. Despite his best efforts in attacking a wide outside-off delivery, his shot did not have the power to get over the line.
KNIGHT RIDERS STUTTER
Kolkata struggled for momentum in the first half of their innings after opting to bat first, slipping to 63-3 in the 11th over when Eoin Morgan departed for 24.
However, skipper Karthik raised the tempo as he combined with Gill to put on 82 for the fourth wicket. The former was run out from the final ball of the 20th over, having hit eight fours and two sixes.
The English opener cracked 116 from 65 balls in Rajasthan's 222-2, making his highest score of the IPL campaign so far and emphasising his position as the leading run-scorer in the 2022 competition. Despite a late rally, Delhi fell short by making 207-8 in reply, sliding to a 15-run defeat, with the Royals going top of the table.
This was game seven for the Royals and Buttler, and he came up trumps once more, sharing in a first-wicket partnership of 155 with Devdutt Padikkal (54) before captain Sanju Samson (46no) came out firing for the final overs.
Delhi were up against it from the off but had a sniff of a chance when Rishabh Pant began finding all corners of the Wankhede Stadium; however, Pant's departure for 44 from 24 balls in the 12th over meant there was only tenuous hope left.
Prithvi Shaw (37) and David Warner (28) had given Delhi a reasonable enough start but failed to stick around.
Yuzvendra Chahal at deep fine leg dropped Pant early in the 12th over, misreading the flight of the ball, but the batsman fell two deliveries later. Pant got a top edge when looking to pull into the leg side, and Padikkal watched the ball soar high into the night sky before it fell to allow him to take a fine catch.
Lalit Yadav and Rovman Powell showed fight to leave Delhi needing 36 from the final two overs, but Prasidh Krishna (3-22) then had Yadav caught behind in a remarkable wicket maiden. Three sixes by Powell at the start of the 20th over raised hopes of a miracle finale, but Delhi's protests over a possible no-ball killed their own momentum.
Buttler serves up another ton of treats
Man-of-the-moment Buttler came into this season with one century in 65 IPL matches, spread across six years. Now he has four in 72, and on this occasion it took him 36 balls to reach 50 and only 21 more to advance to three figures.
Buttler made a ton against Mumbai Indians in his second game of the season, and followed that knock of exactly 100 with an impressive 103 in his sixth outing, against Kolkata Knight Riders. There were nine fours and nine sixes in this masterpiece by the 31-year-old, and he has 491 runs for the season, 226 more than the next highest scorer in the competition (KL Rahul – 265).
Surreal McCoy
Royals paceman Obed McCoy cost his team 26 runs with a dreadful over that included nine runs given away in extras, five of which came from a wild and head-high no ball that raced away to the boundary. It was probably the worst delivery that will be bowled in this year's IPL, sailing way outside off stump after slipping out of McCoy's hand and landing several yards wide of wicketkeeper Samson.
When McCoy conceded three sixes from the first three balls of the final over, Delhi needed three more maximums for victory, but the paceman avoided further embarrassment.
Four-time champions Mumbai finished top of the table and will take some stopping in the final next Tuesday on the evidence of this crushing win in Qualifier 1.
Suryakumar Yadav (51 from 38 balls) marked his 100th IPL match with a half-century, while Ishan Kishan (55 not out from 30) also raised his bat as the holders posted 200-5.
Quinton de Kock (40 off 25) and Hardik Pandya (37no from 14) were the other Mumbai batsmen who put on a show at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, with Ravichandran Ashwin (3-29) the standout Capitals bowler.
The game was all-but over early in the run chase as Boult and Bumrah ran riot, the defending champions taking three wickets before Delhi had a run on the board.
Bumrah replaced Kagiso Rabada as the leading wicket-taker in this year's tournament with incredible figures of 4-14 and Boult would probably have claimed more than 2-9 if he bowled more than two overs.
Delhi never recovered from a lethal early burst from the pace duo, who have 49 wickets between them in the 2020 IPL, and their eventual 143-8 was much more than they looked destined for.
Marcus Stoinis (65 from 46) and Axar Patel (42 off 33) salvaged some pride, and Delhi must regroup before facing Sunrisers Hyderabad or Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday for the right to play Mumbai in the final.
KISHAN AND PANDYA CAP IT OFF
De Kock took 15 off the first over from Daniel Sams, but Rohit Sharma went for a golden duck when he was trapped leg before playing down the wrong line to an Ashwin delivery.
The holders were flying at 63-1 at the end of the powerplay, with Yadav in great touch, but De Kock fell 10 short of a half-century and they were 101-4 in the 13th over when Kieron Pollard became the excellent Ashwin's third victim.
Kishan and Pandya conjured up a devastating late onslaught, though, putting on 60 from only 23 balls, with Anrich Nortje suffering the most as he went for 50 off his four overs.
Pandya launched back-to-back sixes in the penultimate over from Rabada and struck five in total, while Kishan dispatched the last ball of the innings from Nortje over extra cover for six to reach his half-century and bring up the 200.
BOULT AND BUMRAH SPELL DOUBLE TROUBLE FOR DELHI
Delhi needed a blistering start to have a chance of chasing down a big target, but instead they became the first IPL team to be three down without scoring a run.
Boult and Bumrah were rested for the Indians' heavy loss to Sunrisers in their last game of the regular season and the refreshed pacemen were bang on the money on their return.
Left-arm quick Boult dismissed Prithvi Shaw and Ajinkya Rahane in the first over before Bumrah bowled Shikhar Dhawan with an unplayable searing yorker.
Shreyas Iyer also fell to the brilliant Bumrah prior to Rishabh Pant being sent on his way by Krunal Pandya to leave Delhi reeling on 41-5, with Stoinis' entertaining knock always going to be in vain.
Suryakumar Yadav scored 79 not out from 47 balls as the Indians, who won the toss and elected to bat, set a strong total of 193-4 in Abu Dhabi.
Jos Buttler smashed 70 from 44 deliveries in response but he lacked meaningful support from any of his Royals team-mates, who will be eagerly anticipating the availability of Ben Stokes once his period of quarantine in the United Arab Emirates is over.
Jasprit Bumrah starred for the Indians with bowling figures of 4-20 – his best in the IPL – to ensure his team moved above the Delhi Capitals at the summit and condemned the Royals, who had won their first two matches, to a third consecutive defeat as they were bowled out for 136.
YADAV GOES BIG
After opener Quinton de Kock fell to IPL debutant Kartik Tyagi, Mumbai looked like they could be in trouble in their middle overs when Shreyas Gopal (2-28) removed Rohit Sharma (35) and Ishan Kishan (0) with successive deliveries.
Krunal Pandya went to Jofra Archer for 12 but Yadav pushed the Indians forward, bringing up his fifty with a four off Tom Curran.
Yadav established an unbeaten partnership worth 76 runs with Hardik Pandya (30 off 19) and finished with 11 fours and a pair of maximums for his highest IPL score.
POLLARD DENIES BRILLIANT BUTTLER
The Royals' hopes of being competitive were effectively dashed inside their opening three overs as they lost Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson to Trent Boult for ducks either side of Steve Smith swiping Bumrah to De Kock.
Rajasthan were in poor shape at 12-3 – the third game in a row they have been three down inside seven overs – but Buttler launched five maximums and found the rope four more times to give them hope.
However, a stunning catch from Kieron Pollard, who adjusted well in the deep after Buttler's shot initially hit his forearm, ended the wicketkeeper-batsman's electric knock.
Bumrah capped a commanding display from the Indians by dismissing Rahul Tewatia (5) and Gopal (1) in the same over before accounting for Archer at the end of his next set of six.
Both sides came into the showdown on the back of defeats and it was leaders Mumbai who responded like the champions they are, winning by five wickets in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Bumrah moved past the 100 IPL wickets and 200 T20 scalp landmarks with outstanding figures of 3-14 from four overs, playing a big part in restricting RCB to 164-6.
Devdutt Padikkal (74 from 45 balls) and Josh Philippe (33 off 24) got Virat Kohli's second-placed side off to a flyer, but they were rocked by the India paceman Bumrah at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
Kieron Pollard also made an impact with the ball, removing AB de Villiers for only 15 in his only over – which cost just five runs.
Yadav was Mumbai's match-winner with the bat, making a statement to the India selectors after he was left out for the tour of Australia by crafting an unbeaten 79 off 43 balls.
Mohammed Siraj and Yuzvendra Chahal took two wickets apiece, but they were unable to see the back of the classy Yadav, who hit the winning runs off the first ball of the last over to leave the Indians on the brink of the play-offs.
BRILLIANT BUMRAH HITS MILESTONES BY CLAIMING KOHLI SCALP
India paceman Bumrah is up to second on the list of the leading wicket-takers in the 2020 tournament after playing a huge hand for the defending champions yet again.
He also reached two significant landmarks by claiming the huge wicket of Kohli, who was caught in the deep after top-edging a short ball.
Bumrah then removed Shivam Dube and Padikkal, who struck 12 fours and a six in a classy knock, in the 17th over and bowled 15 dot balls in another outstanding performance with ball in hand.
YADAV MAKES HIS POINT AFTER INDIA SNUB
Siraj was called up by India this week and celebrated by getting rid of Quinton de Kock and Saurabh Tiwary, while Chahal sent Ishan Kishan packing.
Mumbai were 107-4 when Krunal Pandya fell in the 14th over, but Yadav never looked troubled in a brilliant knock, reaching his half-century off 29 balls.
The elegant right-hander struck three of his 10 fours off the 16th over, bowled by Siraj, and two of his three sixes came off the spinner Chahal as he finished with a strike rate of 183.72.
