Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players
Royals run out of steam after Maxwell, du Plessis set it up for RCB
Maxwell and du Plessis raise a century partnership but RR’s chase faltered in the final stages to hand Royal Challengers Bangalore a seven-run win at home.
Much like the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) innings that was built magnificently by Glenn Maxwell and Faf du Plessis, Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) chase was centered on one tall partnership. The difference was in the velocity drop after the base.
The 127-run spread from 67 balls by Maxwell (77, 44b) and du Plessis (62, 39b) was therefore that bit better and quicker than the 66-ball 98-run stand between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal.
It meant RCB's 189/9, below-par given the Maxwell-Faf high, sufficed on an atypical M Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch for a seven-run win on Sunday.
Despite Jos Buttler getting cleaned up by Mohammed Siraj in the first over, Jaiswal (47, 37b) and Padikkal (52, 34b) quickly picked things up. A flurry of fours from the young left-handed batters followed. Then came the sixes. If Padikkal creamed one over cover off Harshal Patel, Jaiswal danced down to Maxwell for a couple.
The visitors were well in it halfway at 92/1 before the next four overs saw just 16 runs added. Both the decelerating batters fell in that, in similar fashion – holed out at long-on. Skipper Sanju Samson tried to get things going again but Patel had him caught at short third man in the 16th over. Unable to muster any timing, Shimron Hetmyer (3, 9b) was brilliantly run out by Suyash Prabhudessai from cover two overs later.
Dhruv Jurel’s blows (34*, 16b) kept RR alive with 20 to get in the final over, for which he wasn't on strike. Thus, despite two edgy fours from R Ashwin, Patel (3/32) got the job done on a deck that suited his change of pace.
It was why stand-in captain Virat Kohli was happy to bat first, foreseeing the dry pitch getting drier as the match progressed.
But first, he had to watch the early swing. Trent Boult delivered the ideal first ball to an Indian top-order batter from a left-arm pacer: pitched up on middle and moving in to get Kohli, playing across, trapped for a golden duck. The Kiwi also got Shahbaz Ahmed off a short ball but out came Maxwell fighting fire with fire and creaming two fours in the same over.
Du Plessis then smacked Sandeep Sharma for two consecutive sixes — over cover and straight – in a 16-run fourth over. It was counter-attack of class by two batters who played the ball instead of the situation and bowler. It meant Boult's third over too went for 12, and Maxwell also attacked Ashwin in a 62-run powerplay.
RCB have been pulled back in the middle phase this season, but with Maxwell and an injury-hampered yet in-form du Plessis around, they continued to push on. While the Aussie reverse-swept Yuzvendra Chahal and slapped Jason Holder straight down for sixes, du Plessis owned the leg side with pulls and glances as they brought up their 100-run stand in 55 balls.
No bowler looked like breaking it, until fielder Jaiswal did. His direct hit from covers that caught du Plessis short proved a momentum-turning point. That was two balls into the 13th over, when RCB were 139. They collected just 50 runs over the next 40 balls, losing six wickets, including that of Maxwell as he switch-hit to backward point to end the 15th over.
Only three fours would come in the last five overs, two from Dinesh Karthik (16, 13b), whose finishing kick again lacked vigour.
