Dubai: AB de Villiers played yet another stunning innings as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) registered their sixth win after beating Rajasthan Royals (RR) by seven wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Dubai on Saturday (October 17).
Chasing 178 runs to win, RCB made a brilliant start with Aaron Finch taking on Jofra Archer in the third over, hitting the right-arm speedster for two sixes. However, Finch got out in the next over as Shreyas Gopal gave Rajasthan their first breakthrough. Virat Kohli joined Devdutt Padikkal in the middle and the duo hit three fours between them over the next two overs to take RCB to 47/1 at the end of the powerplay.
The Padikkal-Kohli duo completed the fifty-run stand after Kohli tonked a six off Gopal in the tenth over. RCB added 25 runs in the next three overs to move past hundred. However, they lost Padikkal and Kohli on successive deliveries. While Padikkal was holed out at long-on, Kohli got out for 43 after Rahul Tewatia took a fine catch at the deep mid-wicket boundary.
We said we’ve done this before, didn’t we? 🤩
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) October 17, 2020
Never stop believing. 👊🏻#PlayBold #IPL2020 #WeAreChallengers #Dream11IPL #RRvRCB pic.twitter.com/mAjfeuW9J5
After 14 overs, RCB were 104/3 and needed 75 runs in the last six overs to cross the finish line. The next four overs saw RCB score 39 runs, with De Villiers hitting two sixes and a four to move to 28 off 16 balls. RCB had to score 35 runs off the last two overs and ABD turned it on and did it some style.
Mr 360 hammered three sixes on the first three balls – first over covers, second over long-on and third over the deep-backward square. Gurkeerat Singh Mann also hit a four as RCB scored 25 in the over to bring down the target to 10 from 6 deliveries. RCB scored those 10 runs in 4 deliveries as ABD closed out the game with six and in that process, completed his match-winning fifty.
Earlier, after electing to bat, RR opened the innings with Robin Uthappa and Ben Stokes. While the two scored only five runs from the first two overs, Uthappa and Rajasthan conveyed speed in the third over as the right-hander hit four fours off Washington Sundar.
Uthappa creamed a drive through the off side to start the proceedings and followed it up with three fours through the leg-side. Uthappa continued to attack as he hit a six and a four while Stokes hit his first four of the match as RR scored 17 of the fourth over to move to 38/0.
While RR brought up their fifty in the final over of the powerplay, they also lost Stokes in the same over after he gloved one to AB de Villiers off Chris Morris’ bowling.
Meanwhile, Uthappa, who had earlier completed 4500 IPL runs, added two more fours to his account in the seventh over. RCB though struck twice in the eighth over via Yuzvendra Chahal. First, he had Uthappa caught at the deep mid-wicket after the right-hander scored 41 off 22 balls, and then, got the wicket of Sanju Samson who was caught at long-off by Morris.
Jos Buttler and Steve Smith then joined forces and had a restoring job at their hands. Buttler was quick to get off the blocks as he moved to 17 off 13, with a four and a six. In the meantime, Smith too kept the scorecard ticking as he and Buttler completed the fifty-run stand in the 15th over, with Smith hitting two fours in the over.
While Smith hit a six and a four in the following over, RR lost Buttler in the same over after Morris picked his second wicket. RR scored 19 off the 18th over bowled by Chahal and Smith brought up his fifty from 30 deliveries. Tewatia then creamed a six and a four in the second last over. Then, Morris added two more wickets to his account in the final over and RR posted 177/6 on the board.
Brief Scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 179/3 (AB de Villiers 55*, Virat Kohli 43; Rahul Tewatia 1/30) beat Rajasthan Royals 177/6 (Steve Smith 57, Robin Uthappa 41; Chris Morris 4/26) by seven wickets.
