RCB falter in clash of heavyweights as runs deluge in Guwahati

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru suffered their first defeat of the season in a high-scoring thriller as Rajasthan Royals pipped past them with two overs to spare. In a rain-delayed encounter, RCB encountered early challenges both with the bat and the ball but managed to find a way back to keep things afloat. However, the early damage inflicted on them by the youngster, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was too irreparable to come back from.

RCB lost a crucial toss which had significant impact on the overall course of the game. Asked to bat first, Phil Salt was gone first ball. However, Virat Kohli (32) and Devdutt Padikkal (14) got into the act straight away and fought back with a solid counterattack. The duo added 45 runs in just 17 balls before Archer could get the better of Padikkal.

Virat Kohli fell shortly after, precipitating a collapse in the RCB middle-order. Krunal Pandya (1), Jitesh Sharma (5) and Tim David (13) could hardly conjure a knock of significance. Captain Rajat Patidar was the man who hung around and played an important innings, keeping RCB afloat.

He eventually got some support from Romario Shepherd who smashed a quickfire 22. However, that couldn’t really uplift the spirits of the Royal Challengers as Patidar stayed stranded at the other end. Wobbling at 125/7, RCB decided to bring Venkatesh Iyer in as an impact player.

That decision eventually provided some momentum to the RCB innings as Patidar also got a move on. He finally surged past the half-century mark after a couple of solid starts in the season already. Patidar hammered 63 off just 40 balls, blasting four fours and four sixes. Iyer brought in the late fire, staying unbeaten for 29 from just 15 balls. RCB went from 125/7 to a formidable 201/8 at the end of 20 overs.

Despite a valiant effort from Patidar and Venkatesh Iyer, the equation derailed quite early for RCB with their bowling. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi got off to a fiery start and there was no looking back for the Royals. Josh Hazlewood did manage to apply the brakes with the scalp of Yashasvi Jaiswal (13) but Sooryavanshi had completely different plans.

Tagging alongside Dhruv Jurel, Vaibhav’s onslaught went big and almost crippled RCB in the defence. By the time Krunal Pandya could strike a double whammy to reel things back in, it was a tad too late. Sooryavanshi hammered 78 off 26 balls. Cruising at jet speed, Royals were forced to apply the brakes as they lost two in two with Shimron Hetmyer falling first ball.

Much to their shock, their skipper, Riyan Parag (3) was also gone in no time, offering RCB a slender window of opportunity. However, with bulk of the scoring already done in the first eight overs, Rajasthan sat back and played watchful cricket as Dhruv Jurel (81*) led the charge alongside Ravindra Jadeja to secure a six wicket win for RR.

Krunal Pandya and Josh Hazlewood were the pick of the lot as the duo shared four wickets amongst themselves. Pandya was the most economical with figures of 2/30 from four overs. RCB return to action tomorrow as they lock horns with Mumbai Indians, hoping to regain their winning momentum.