Maxwell and du Plessis batting set up
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals were both tied on points at the top of the Indian Premier League (IPL) table after RCB defeated the Royals in a closely fought match. RCB overcame a collapse towards the end of their innings, where they lost seven wickets for 50 runs, to set a total of 189 runs. However, the highlight of the match was the 127-run partnership between Glenn Maxwell and Faf du Plessis, which came in just 11.1 overs after RCB lost two early wickets. Their partnership made the pitch look much easier than it actually was.
The pitch was an enigma for both teams, with RCB uncertain whether it would slow down and the Royals preferring to chase. However, the Royals didn’t name a single batter in their substitute list and continued to not use Jason Holder’s batting, even though they were bowling first. RCB benefited from the Impact Player rule, which allowed them to play two players who wouldn’t have featured otherwise due to injury: du Plessis and Harshal Patel. Both players made crucial contributions to RCB’s victory.
The Royals got off to a bad start in their chase, with Trent Boult taking two wickets in his first two overs. However, Rajasthan Royals’ opening pair of Padikkal and Jaiswal set up the chase beautifully, hitting at least one boundary per over from overs two to ten. This left the Royals needing 98 runs off the last 10 overs. Padikkal brought up his fifty in the over after that, but the slide began around the 11th over for RCB.
Wanindu Hasaranga and David Willey started the slide for RCB, with Hasaranga conceding just five runs in the 11th over. Padikkal was the first to go, holing out to Willey off the third ball of the 12th over. Jaiswal holed out off Harshal in the 14th over, having struggled to score off the last ten balls he faced. Sanju Samson managed to get the better of Hasaranga in the 15th over, but he too was dismissed soon after.
Shimron Hetmyer failed to connect with even a single shot in the end, and it was Dhruv Jorel who kept the Royals alive with a quick 34 off 16. However, his run-out on the last ball of the 19th over handed the strike over to Ashwin for the last over. Ashwin got lucky with two boundaries, but he was dismissed off a slower ball when the Royals needed ten runs off the last three balls. At last there was too much left for debutant Abdul Basith to do.
Final Score
Royal Challengers Bangalore 189 for 9
Rajasthan Royals Kings 182 for 6
Match Highlights
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