Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) quest to qualify for the playoffs in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) was given a major boost when they thrashed the Rajasthan Royals (RR) by a whopping 112 runs. RCB had scored 171/5 after which RR were all out for a paltry 59 runs in 10.3 overs.
Not only did the result take RCB level on points with RR but it gave their net run rate a major boost, while RR's took a huge hit. RR had an NRR that was second best to only top-placed Gujarat Titans before the match but it went down to 0.140, which is the lowest among teams that have a positive NRR. The RCB players were understandably a jubilant lot after the match in the dressing room and former captain Virat Kohli could be seen joking that RR would have been all out for 40 had he bowled.
"If I had bowled, they would have been all out for 40," Kohli can be heard saying in a video posted by RCB of how the team celebrated in the dressing room after the victory. Kohli has rarely ever bowled in his career and has himself made a number of jokes about his bowling action. RR's 59 all out is the third lowest score of all time in the IPL for a 20-over match. The second-lowest total of 58 was also by RR against RCB in the 2009 season while the lowest total of 49 was scored by RCB against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2017.
{{/usCountry}}"If I had bowled, they would have been all out for 40," Kohli can be heard saying in a video posted by RCB of how the team celebrated in the dressing room after the victory. Kohli has rarely ever bowled in his career and has himself made a number of jokes about his bowling action. RR's 59 all out is the third lowest score of all time in the IPL for a 20-over match. The second-lowest total of 58 was also by RR against RCB in the 2009 season while the lowest total of 49 was scored by RCB against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2017.
{{/usCountry}}Wayne Parnell was the star for RCB on Sunday, ending up with figures of 3/10. His wickets included those of Jos Buttler, RR captain Sanju Samson and Joe Root. "Very happy to get the two points and to win by such a big margin, I think the table is very congested and the net run rate is crucial for us. Every single player wants to do well but we have done really well to enjoy our teammates' success since the first game against MI," said Parnell in the video.