Picture Credit: BCII/IPL
The Royals derby ended with Rajasthan Royals having the last laugh over Royal Challengers Bangalore. Sanju Samson-led side delivered an outstanding performance to win the game by 29 runs on Wednesday at MCA Stadium in Pune. While Riyan Parag's half-century helped the side to post defending total onboard in the first innings, Kuldeep Sen's four-wicket haul and R Ashwin's three-wicket sealed the game for Men in Pink.
Bangalore batters failed to capitalize on the foundation provided by bowlers in the first innings. W Hasaranga, Md Siraj and Josh Hazlewood emerged as standout bowlers for their side as they clinched two wickets each in the first innings to restrict Rajasthan to just 144. In response, Bangalore batters put in a disappointing show in front of impressive bowling and fielding from Rajasthan Royals.
Virat Kohli, who was promoted to open the innings alongside Faf du Plessis, could not change his fortunes as he got out after adding just 9 runs on board. Faf du Plessis (23 off 21) and Rajat Patidar (16 off 16) build crucial partnerships for second wicket, but that didn't last long as Kuldeep Sen's insanity in the 7th over dismissed Faf and Glenn Maxwell on successive deliveries.
The Aussie got out on golden duck. Shahbaz Ahmed played a few good shots and kept the hope alive for Bangalore for 27 balls but could not cross the winning mark for his side. Finisher Dinesh Karthik became a victim of a unique run-out caused by Devdutt Padikkal and Yuzvendra Chahal. Bangalore faced back-to-back shocking defeats in the league, while Rajasthan Royals are riding high on comprehensive victories.
Changes in the points table
With that win, Rajasthan Royals have climbed up the ladder and comfortably sit at the top spot with 12 points in eight games. Rajasthan has an impressive net run rate of +0.561. Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Bangalore have slipped to the fifth position in the points table with just 10 points in nine games. They have a net run rate of -0.572.
Today's matchup
Mighty Gujarat Titans will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai at 7:30 PM. Both the teams look confident and strong enough to post formidable challenges to each other. Titans are placed second in the points table, while Hyderabad stands at the third place.
What did the captain say?
Winning captain Sanju Samson seemed happy with the team's performance and showed a lot of confidence in Riyan Parag. "We have been backing him for the last three-four years, and he just showed it to the world today," he said in the post-match presentation. Samson also conveyed that management is happy to see bowlers stepping up and winning the game for the team.
On the other hand, Faf du Plessis said that his bowlers conceded too many runs at the end and fielding was below average, which cost them the game. Bangalore skipper also backed Virat Kohli by saying that he is a great player and we will support him till the end.