Abu Dhabi: Virat Kohli finally returned to form as the skipper led from the front with a 53-ball 72 to lead Royal Challengers Bangalore comfortably overcoming the Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets on Saturday (October 3).
It was their first game at the venue and they dominated with both bat and ball. After restricting Rajasthan to 154, they made the chase look rather easy with Kohli finally getting among the runs in this season.
The win took RCB to the top of the table, albeit briefly given how closely the tournament is being contested with as many as six teams on the same points. Devdutt Padikkal continued his great run in the season, scoring his third fifty in four games. Although Finch departed early, together with skipper Kohli, Padikkal attacked a hapless-looking RR unit.
Shreyas Gopal got Aaron Finch early, but thereafter it didn’t help that RR were sloppy in the field, giving away easy runs to the pair. Once they were settled, they didn’t give them a chance for recovery. Padikkal fell for in the 16th over, but Kohli and AB de Villiers ensured it was a comfortable finish for them in the end.
Yuzvendra Chahal once again led the bowling with three-wicket haul. Although Rajasthan did well to cross the 150-run mark, Kohli and Padikkal ensured they didn’t fret through that chase. Padikkal was so comfortable in the middle that his composure gave Kohli the chance to dig in who hadn’t had a strong start to the tournament so far. The pair shared a 99-run stand before the youngster departed for a 45-ball 63.
Earlier, although Jos Buttler got Rajasthan to a flier in his brief cameo, it was the quartet of Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar that delivered for their side with the wickets of Steve Smith, Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson — the cream of RR’s batting line-up, conceding just 38.
On his debut for Rajasthan, Mahipal Lomror played an impressive knock coming in at a time when they were 70/4 with a total of 150 looking unlikely. With Riyan Parag at the other end, he kept the scoreboard ticking, and found the boundary just once, but cleared it thrice, falling just three short of a fifty. Although his knock of 47 was a sedate one, it kept the Pink Army in the middle for 20 overs. Archer (16) and Tewatia (24) too played crucial cameos to give Rajasthan a respectable total.
Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals154/6 in 20 overs (Mahipal Lomror 47, Rahul Tewatia 24*; Yuzvendra Chahal 3/24) lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore158/2 in 19.1 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 63, Virat Kohli 72*; Jofra Archer 1/18) by eight wickets.
