Virat Kohli (72 off 47) and Devdutt Padikkal (101 off 52) helped Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) outmuscle Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 10 wickets with 21 balls to spare in Match 16 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The win took Bangalore to the top of the points table, dethroning Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Rajasthan, on the other hand, languish at the bottom.
Earlier, Rajasthan piled up 177/9 after Kohli won the toss and asked them to bat first, thanks to valuable contributions from Shivam Dube (46) and Rahul Tewatia (40). Mohammed Siraj (3-27) and Harshal Patel (3-47) were the pick of the Bangalore bowlers.
Siraj, Jamieson rattle Rajasthan top order
Jos Buttler (8) got off the mark with two boundaries in the opening over, from Siraj, but the latter came back and had the last laugh in his second over. Manan Vohra (7), once again, wasted his opportunity after coming to open.
After coming at No. 4, David Miller (0), too, had a short stay in the crease. A toe-crushing inswinging yorker off Siraj trapped him plumb in front of stumps. Rajasthan were 18/3 after five overs.
Samson falls, in the same way as he usually does
Rajasthan skipper Sanju Samson (21) showed maturity after their top order fell early. But he did not last long either. After pumping over mid-wicket for a massive six off Washington Sundar, he hit straight to Glenn Maxwell at short mid-wicket next ball. Once again, he gave away his wicket so cheaply.
Dube, Parag take the damage-control responsibility
However, Dube kept his calm and played his natural, aggressive game against his former franchise. He slammed two sixes and a boundary off Yuzvendra Chahal in the ninth over.
Parag, too, launched his ‘helicopter shot’ off Harshal Patel in the 14th. Unfortunately, in the next ball, he got too greedy and got caught at third man. The pair added 63 runs (off 37 balls) in the fifth wicket to bring Rajasthan back in the game.
The firepower of Tewatia arrives in IPL 2021
Coming at No. 7, Tewatia didn’t take much time to unleash himself. He flicked the second ball faced over fine leg for six. Two balls after, he tickled one past AB de Villiers for four. However, his partnership (24 off 12) with Dube did not last. The latter fell four short of his maiden IPL half-century, courtesy Maxwell’s fine running catch at long-on.
Tewatia (40 off 23) then played his part at the backend of the innings before hitting straight to Shahbaz Ahmed at deep mid-wicket. In the 20th over, Purple Cap holder Harshal picked up two wickets in the first two balls, of Chris Morris and Chetan Sakariya to consolidate his lead over others. He conceded only seven from the final over.
Padikkal, Kohli set the tone for the chase
Kohli took three balls off Shreyas Gopal in the opening over to settle himself in. Then he hammered one over long-on for a six. His opening partner, Padikkal, too, introduced himself by hitting two boundaries off Gopal’s 2nd over.
Morris had a very poor start with the ball. He conceded 15 in his first over. The RCB pair added 50 runs in just 31 balls. Kohli was happy to play second fiddle in their partnership throughout the innings.
No stopping of RCB opening pair! Game over.
Padikkal was in the zone and then notched up his 1st fifty of the season in just 27 balls. He shifted his gears to the highest level after that and scored 80 (off 36) of RCB’s 107 runs after 10 overs.
Kohli increased the tempo by hitting three glorious boundaries in two overs. Two of them came off Sakariya in the 12th. He brought up his fifty in 34 balls. One ball later, he became the first player to score 6,000 IPL runs by guiding it away fine of long leg.
Rajasthan did not have a strike bowler who could cause dents in the Bangalore opening pair. They tried hard, but were simply outclassed by Kohli and Padikkal, who chased the target with ease.
Brief Scores:
Rajasthan Royals 177/9 in 20 overs (Shivam Dube 46; Mohammed Siraj 3-27, Harshal Patel 3-47) lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore 181 for no loss in 16.3 overs (Virat Kohli 72*, Devdutt Padikkal 101*) by 10 wickets with 21 balls to spare. Player of the match: Devdutt Padikkal.