Rajasthan Royals beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Indian Premier League game at Guwahati. RCB were put into bat first and managed to score 201 at the end of the first innings. That total did not prove to be enough as young sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi smashed a 15 ball half century while Dhruv Jurel also played a terrific knock as Rajasthan Royals chased down the target comfortably. It was a dominating performance at home and they were excellent today in all facets of the game.
Dhruv Jurel: Sir, not just me, everyone must have enjoyed it. Like Vaibhav didn’t bat today, but when he does, it feels like facing someone like Jasprit Bumrah becomes easy. Watching him, it feels like there’s nothing happening in the pitch, so you can take your chances. And today it turned out that way. No sir, I was just trying. I’ve worked on this last year when I was batting lower down the order. This time, the management gave me an opportunity to bat higher. They told me to just believe in myself, keep playing my shots and not overthink. The game is on me, so just back myself. Honestly, it’s hard to understand. Seriously, you’re just in awe, how can someone hit like that. It makes you think, we’re batting on the same pitch, why doesn’t it feel the same for us. He’s a great talent. No sir, the best thing is not to tell him anything. Let him play the way he does. We just feel lucky that he’s in our team. Sir, I think we’ve started well. As the tournament progresses, the middle order will also step up. In the practice matches, everyone contributed and looked in good touch. Hopefully, their big knocks will come soon. Sir, like I said earlier, if Vaibhav gets going in the powerplay, it makes things easier for us. And if it looks easy, then it becomes fun to watch as well.
Rajat Patidar | RCB captain:
I think the way we started in the powerplay, those initial wickets, and from there, 202, I think that’s a positive sign for us. And at the same time, the way their batters, especially Vaibhav, batted in the powerplay, I think that made a huge difference. I think the way we are, I think in our last matches that was brilliant. But I think there are a lot of learnings from this game. I don’t think that much because Venky, Shepi (Shepherd) and KP were there. So I think we had to manage those overs with all three bowlers. I don’t think that made a huge difference. I think if you are playing this kind of competitive cricket, especially in the IPL, there will be errors. But the important thing is how you look at it, you have to learn from your mistakes.
Riyan Parag | RR captain:
Yeah, absolutely. The previous, keeping the previous years in mind, I feel we were not up to the mark in a few years that we've played here, but today I think it was very clinical. It's always about getting better. I feel the way we bowled, the way we started, I would have been happy with 200. But I think the way we clawed back in the middle overs, I still think we were like 20 over par. We should have bowled a little better, executed a little better. Maybe I made a few bad decisions and restricted them to like a 170-ish. But yeah, things to learn every game. (what mistakes were done today while bowling?) I think a few balls here and there. This is a wicket where not a lot of sixes are hit down the ground, especially our spinners. So I felt at some points we gave a little bit of room, played to the batsman's advantage. So I think as we move forward, we learn from these mistakes and try not to repeat them. (on making their homeground a fortress) It's not really that tough. I think we put enough prep in Guwahati and in Jaipur. So I feel once we did our camp in Jaipur, we had enough days of practice here. We know what the black soil does here. Keeps a little low, is a little sticky. So I think we're well prepared for any home game. Didn't really feel like a home game, but we were really prepared. (plans going forward?) I think very high scoring grounds. Again, like I said, before the start of the season, that's what my chat with the team was that we want to be a team that assesses wickets really well. And I feel now that we've played on a sticky wicket and we've done so well, once we get a belter, I think we're going to do even better. (on Sooryavanshi) I think everyone loves him. Everyone loves having him around. He likes eating stuff. He likes going out and stuff like that. So we make sure we make that available for him. And he's a 16-year-old kid, 15-year-old, whatever it is. Yeah, very kiddish things. And he's happy with that. He likes a lot of batting. So we make sure that that is presented to him. And if he keeps on batting like that, I think whatever he wants.
Read More: Riyan Parag Captaincy Record
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | Player of the Match (translated from Hindi):
(are you going to cut a cake tonight?) No, no sir, it's not like that. Today we have to sleep a little early because we have to leave early tomorrow, we have an early flight, so we have to leave early. No sir, it's not like that, I just try to do what I do in practice, do the same, don't try anything extra and do the natural game. (on having no fear against Bumrah and Hazlewood) At the back of the mind it stays that who is bowling, but I was trying to play the ball, not look at the bowler, and play the ball according to what it is. (who all are guiding you right now?) Sir, papa is one and also my coaches, here my guardians are Rohi sir. So all these people keep telling me that the journey is very long, this has just started, so you have to focus on your process and your work, you have to focus on the game without looking here and there. (on showing disappointment after getting out) Sir, if I stay on the wicket, then another 10-20 runs can be made, if we are chasing the target, then we can finish it two overs earlier, or if we set the target, then 10-20 runs can be made more. So I regret that if I am out by playing a loose shot, then the team is going minus, so I just get a little upset that I could have played longer.
Rajasthan Royals continued their unbeaten runs this season and they are looking a very strong unit. On the other hand, RCB were handed their first defeat of the season and they will be keen to bounce back. It was a spectacular game and the crowd was treated to some exceptional batting. The Indian Premier League keeps throwing out talents and today Vaibhav Suryavanshi operated at a different level and dominated the game for Rajasthan who look very strong in this season.
