Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batting lineup struggled to recover from the horror show against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) as they failed to chase down a non-threatening target of 145 against Rajasthan Royals (RR). From Virat Kohli to Glenn Maxwell to in-form finisher Dinesh Karthik, no batter could make a mark in a run chase that would have helped boost RCB’s net run rate (NRR). The Faf du Plessis-led side lost the game by a big margin of 29 runs at Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) stadium, Pune on April 26.
The big win helped Royals climb to the points table with 12 points and a superior NRR than Gujarat Titans (GT).
Kohli fails as opener
Skipper Du Plessis announced after winning the toss that Kohli will open the innings alongside in absence of Anuj Rawat as the latter was replaced by Rajat Patidar. However, the move did not work as Kohli played another loose shot to throw away his wicket. Prasidh Krishna got his wicket in the second over of the innings.
Kuldeep’s double blow
RCB were recovering well from the early blow of Kohli. Skipper Du Plessis and Patidar were looking to get the run chase back on track but then Kuldeep Sen was introduced into the attack. Replacing Obed McCoy in the side, Kuldeep got the wicket of former Proteas skipper with the second ball he bowled. He got out for a 21-ball 23.
Then, he managed to get an outside edge off Glenn Maxwell’s bat. He almost completed his hat-trick but the ball missed outside edge off Shahbaz Ahmed’s bat. Kuldeep bowled a sensational first over as he not only got the wicket of the opener but a dangerous Maxwell as well, someone who could have made the run chase easy in a matter of few overs.
Royals dominate with regular wickets
After the wickets of big players, Patidar was looking to play the anchor role but he was bamboozled by Ravichandran Ashwin as the carrom ball uprooted his off-stump. He scored a run-a-ball 16. Suyash Prabhudessai became Ashwin’s second victim in the next over. He also got out for a single-digit score.
However, the big blow came in the 13th over where RCB’s designated finisher, Dinesh Karthik got run out after a terrible mix-up with Shahbaz. After Karthik’s wicket, RCB were struggling at 72/6.
The problems continued as Shahbaz struggled to get boundaries. He played a wild shot in the 16th over and was caught in the deep. The southpaw scored just 17 runs from 27 deliveries and became Ashwin’s third wicket of the day.
Wanindu Hasaranga showed some heart down the order and looked to revive the run chase but Kuldeep came back into the attack and took his wicket. The Sri Lankan bowling all-rounder scored 18 runs from 13 deliveries. The tail did not pose a problem for Royals with Krishna, Kuldeep taking one wicket each to wrap up the innings for 115 with three balls remaining.
Kuldeep took four wickets for 20 runs. Trent Boult and Yuzvendra Chahal did not get a wicket but bowled economically.
Troubling powerplay overs
Batting first, Royals lost too many wickets in the powerplay overs. Mohammed Siraj drew first blood by trapping Devdutt Padikkal in front of stumps with a full delivery. Padikkal reviewed the decision but it went in vain. The southpaw got out for a run-a-ball 7.
Royals' team management stunned everyone by sending Ashwin to bat at no.3 instead of skipper Sanju Samson. Ashwin got off the mark with a boundary and then hit a few more. He was timing the ball well but miscued one off Siraj. The fast bowler took the catch off his own bowling as Ashwin got out for a 9-ball 17.
On the other end, Jos Buttler did not get enough strike and lost his wicket to Josh Hazlewood in the fourth over. Buttler played one too early and Siraj dived to his left to take an athletic catch. Buttler registered his first single-digit score of the season.
Big guns fail
Samson and on-debut Daryl Mitchell tried to get the innings back on track. Samson attacked spinners Shahbaz Ahmed and Hasaranga. He could not get a big score and got bowled by the leg-spinner in an attempt to play reverse sweep. He scored 27 runs from 21 deliveries.
Meanwhile, Mitchell had not scored a single boundary. Riyan Parag walked out to bat with intent to attack. Parag hit Shahbaz for a six and four in the 11th over. But Mitchell succumbed to the dot ball pressure and got out trying to clear the long-on boundary against Hazlewood. The Kiwi opener scored just 16 runs from 23 deliveries. Shimron Hetmyer walked in to bat but disappointed as well with a single-digit score as he got out to Hasaranga.
Parag unleashes brute force
In the 16th over, Royals were 102/6. As Royals don’t bat deep, the responsibility of getting them to a respectable total fell on Parag’s shoulders. In the 18th over, Trent Boult getting out to Harshal did not help them either. After 18 overs, RR were 114/7 but then Parag decided to forget about the bowler’s reputation.
The 20-year-old batter took on Hazlewood in the penultimate over, hitting him for one six and a four. Royals got 12 runs from the over despite Krishna getting run out. In the last over, he targetted RCB’s slog overs specialist. He kept the strike for himself and hit two sixes and one four in the over to help them post 144/8. Parag remained unbeaten for 56 off 31 deliveries. His match-winning knock included three fours and four sixes.
