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Watch: Virat Kohli shocked, reacts in absolute disbelief after Ashwin's 'no-shot attempt' beats fielders for four
Ravichandran Ashwin smashed a four without seemingly even attempting to send the ball past the boundary line, leaving Virat Kohli in shock.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore held their nerves to secure a narrow win over the Rajasthan Royals in the 2023 Indian Premier League game on Sunday afternoon. The hosts, invited to bat first by visiting captain Sanju Samson in Bengaluru, posted a strong score of 189/9 in 20 overs. The Virat Kohli-led RCB, then, restricted the Royals to 182/6 to clinch their fourth win of the season, climbing to fifth spot in the table.
The duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal (47) and Devdutt Padikkal (52) did frustrate the RCB bowlers in the beginning, but the home side came back in style following the dismissal of Padikkal in the 12th over. The RCB bowling lineup ran through the middle-order, continuing to pick wickets at regular intervals; by the end of the 18th over, RR required 33 runs to win off 12 deliveries with Ravichandran Ashwin joining the in-form Dhruv Jurel.
Also read: Watch: Kohli's stunning celebration act directed at Anushka in Chinnaswamy stands during RCB-RR tie has internet talking
While Mohammed Siraj conceded 13 off the penultimate over, RCB had an advantage as Ashwin took the strike for the final over of the run-chase. In a completely bizarre turn of events, Ashwin smashed a four off the very first ball against Harshal Patel, without seemingly attempting to even send the ball to the boundary. In fact, it seemed Ashwin only wanted to take a single, but the ball found a thick upper edge and sailed over the keeper, as well as the short third-man for a four.
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Ashwin scored a two off the next ball and smashed another four off the third, but conceded his wicket as he aimed for a maximum off the fourth delivery. This left RR in a tricky spot with the side needing 9 runs off the remaining two balls. As Ashwin was caught, Dhruv Jurel couldn't take the strike and it was Abdul Basith – the new batter – who played the penultimate delivery.
He could only take a single on the fifth ball, thus confirming RCB's win. Rajasthan Royals stay at the top with four wins in seven games, but could be overtaken by CSK later tonight if MS Dhoni's men defeat Kolkata Knight Riders.
