Rajasthan Royals (RR) suffered an embarrassing 112-run defeat at the hands of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RR) in their crucial Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 clash at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. Royals were bundled out for 59, their lowest innings total in IPL history. Only two batters scored in double digits. Had it not been for Shimron Hetmyer’s 35-run cameo, Royals would have broken the record for lowest score of 49 in IPL history which belongs to RCB.
Every RCB bowler got at least one wicket in the innings as Royals' batting lineup imploded. After the massive win, RCB opener Virat Kohli took a cheeky dig at the home team as he said, 'If I had bowled, they would have been all out for 40'. The video posted by RCB on Twitter on May 15 morning has been making rounds on the internet.
Kohli has not bowled a single ball in IPL since the 2016 edition when RCB reached the final. While leading RCB, he bowled just one over in IPL 2016 and conceded 13 runs. He did not introduce himself into the attack since. In his IPL career, Kohli has taken four wickets, two each in IPL 2008 and 2011 editions. He has a strike rate of 62.75 and an economy rate of 8.80 runs per over.
Wayne Parnell was the star of RCB bowling lineup as he got the wicket of Jos Buttler, skipper Sanju Samson and Joe Root. Parnell conceded just 10 runs from his three overs. The Proteas pacer was adjudged 'Player of the match' for his performance with the new ball.
Earlier, skipper Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell's half-centuries followed by Anuj Rawat's cameo helped RCB post a challenging total of 171/5 on a tough batting surface.
With a massive win, RCB climbed to fifth place on the points table. Also, their net run rate (NRR) got a massive boost. From negative NRR, now they have .166 NRR which may help them in the ultimate playoffs race.
RCB will face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on May 18 and defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) on May 21 in a bid to qualify for the last four.
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