Rajasthan Royals climbed to the top of the IPL 2022 points table after a xx-run victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Tuesday. RCB crashed out for their second consecutive defeat of the season after another disappointing batting performance which included a golden duck for Glenn Maxwell along with failures from captain Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli.
Virat Kohli was promoted to open the innings with Faf du Plessis after RCB dismissed Anuj Rawat, but the former India and RCB captain, who scored back-to-back golden ducks before this match , scored only 9 runs. Chasing 145, the order collapsed against RCB’s top- a disciplined RR bowling line-up.
For Rajasthan Royals, Kuldeep Sen (4/20) and R Ashwin (3/17) were the bowlers whose batsmen failed to score a big total. But the bowlers were relentless and handed RCB a crushing defeat.
Rajasthan Royals were sent to bat after Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Faf du Plessis won the toss. Devdutt Padikkal was dismissed early and R Ashwin was sent in as a pinch-hitter and he scored 17 runs off 9 balls. Mohammad Siraj dismissed both. Orange cap holder Jos Buttler was cheaply sent back by Jos Buttler and it was left to Riyan Parag (56 not out from 31 balls) to do the heavy lifting after Sanju Samson was dismissed for 27 for 21.
Kohli flops again!
Virat Kohli was dismissed for back-to-back ducks before stepping out with skipper Faf du Plessis as the opener. Kohli took the first strike and defended the first ball with some confidence. On the third ball, when he tried to get Trent Boult out of his hips, he escaped from a close and the ball fell to Daryl Mitchell at square leg. But Kohli did not last long and in the second over of the innings, he was caught by the famous Krishna.
Virat Kohli famously tried to pull off Krishna, but only managed to edge off the toe end of the bat and was cleverly caught by Riyan Parag, who ran from backward point.
Faf du Plessis was ahead to go in the seventh over when Kuldeep Sen hit a boundary off his second ball. On his very next ball, Kuldeep dismissed Glenn Maxwell for a golden duck and it became difficult for RCB to chase.
Anuj Rawat, who was dropped for this game, must have seen Virat Kohli flop again.
R Ashwin set up Rajat Patidar beautifully when he bowled wide of the crease to clean bowl him. At this point, RCB were in deep trouble, with even Suyash Prabhudesai joining Shahbaz Ahmed in the middle. It was not going to be easy.
RCB scored 59 for 4 after 10 overs and Sanju Samson dismissed the Purple Cap holder of the season, Yuzvendra Chahal. He bowled with Ashwin and the spin twin put pressure on the Royal Challengers. Prabhudesai had to go for the big shot and fell to R Ashwin in his third over.
Dinesh Karthik was a big hope for RCB but he got run out in a dramatic fashion. Yuzvendra Chahal almost messed up while collecting the ball at the non-striker’s end, but he somehow disturbed the bails and managed to catch Dinesh Karthik just short of the crease. And when Ashwin trapped Shahbaz Ahmed, it was almost as good for RCB.
Wanindu Hasaranga tried but was dismissed by Kuldeep Siew and RCB still needed 43 off 20 balls. Kuldeep Sen took the final wicket as RCB were bowled out for 115.
Butler Falls cheap
Rajasthan Royals have a habit of getting off to a great start this IPL season courtesy of Orange Cap holder Jos Buttler. But on Tuesday, Butler lost cheaply to Josh Hazlewood. He lasted only 9 balls and scored 8 runs in a poor start for the Royals.
The damage was started by Mohammad Siraj, who dismissed Devdutt Padikkal in his first over.
R Ashwin has not been sent for the first time this year but at number three. When you have batsmen like Sanju Samson, Daryl Mitchell and Shimron Hetmyer, one has to wonder what was the need to send Ashwin at the top. However, that move almost paid off. Ashwin hit four fours in nine balls before falling to Siraj in his second over.
Sanju Samson hit three sixes in his 21-ball 27 before Wanindu Hasaranga trapped him in the 10th over. Samson tried to reverse sweep but was defeated by speed and length, which was a bit fuller.
Now the onus was on Mitchell and Riyan Parag to try and make the Royals work with their bowlers as a whole.
RR continued to slip ahead when Hazlewood struck again to dismiss Daryl Mitchell in the 15th over. Shimron Hetmyer came to bat at number 7 and he also did not last long and was dismissed for 7 runs in 3 balls off the delivery of Vanindu Hasaranga.
Trent Boult was brilliantly caught by Virat Kohli off Harshal Patel as RR rolled to 110 for 7 in the 18th over. Riyan Parag was still going strong and was focused as the Royals sought a respectable total by the end of their 20 overs.
Riyan Parag completed his first half-century of the season as Rajasthan Royals posted 144 for 8.