RCB DENTS RR’S HOPES
An all-round effort helps Bangalore beat Rajasthan by seven wickets
DUBAI: Royal Challengers Bangalore notched up its second successive win in the second-leg of the IPL with a convincing seven-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals here on Wednesday.
Set to chase 150, Bangalore reached home with 17 balls to spare with the in-form Glenn Maxwell unbeaten on 50 (30b, 6x4, 1x6). Wicketkeeper KS Bharat made a substantial contribution of 44 (35b, 3x4, 1x6) as the duo added 69 runs for the third wicket.
With the win, Bangalore moved a step closer to qualifying for the playoffs with 14 points from 11 games, while Rajasthan remained at seventh with eight points from 11 matches. After struggling with his previous franchise, Punjab Kings, in the last edition, Maxwell continued his rich vein of form dealing in boundaries and unfurling a range of shots during his entertaining knock.
At the other end, youngster Bharat wasn’t overawed by the stage and came up with a handy knock besides his impressive glovework behind the stumps. Earlier, Bangalore staged an excellent comeback as Rajasthan blew away a blistering start to finish at 149 for nine.
Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed (2 for 10) and leg-break bowler Yuzvendra Chahal (2 for 18) triggered the slide after Rajasthan was cruising at 100 for one in the 11th over. Pacer Harshal Patel (3 for 34) came close to picking a hat-trick in successive matches, in the final over, but Kartik Tyagi denied him that as RR lost eight wickets for 49 runs.
Evin Lewis top-scored with 58 off 37 balls, but was guilty of throwing away his wicket at a crucial juncture, and so was skipper Sanju Samson (19), whose adventurism did not help his team.
Asked to take first strike, Rajasthan saw off two quiet overs before Lewis and Yashasvi Jaiswal (31) decided to cut loose.
Jaiswal played the day’s first scoring shot when he hit Mohammed Siraj through the cover. He then clobbered off-spinner Maxwell for a huge six over long on. Lewis took over after that, smashing debutant English left-arm pacer George Garton for two sixes and a four as Rajasthan picked 18 off the over.
Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals 149/9 in 20 overs (E Lewis 58, H Patel 3/34) lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore 153/3 in 17.1 overs (G Maxwell 50*, Srikar Bharat 44)