Royal Challengers Bangalore cruised to their third win in four matches of the Indian Premier League, defeating Rajasthan Royals by 8 wickets in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, 3 October.
Choosing to bat first, Steve Smith-led RR posted 154/6 in their 20 overs courtesy middle-order batsman Mahipal Lomror’s valuable 47 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
Two half-centuries – one by opener Devdutt Padikkal and the other by captain Virat Kohli – helped RCB chased down the target in 19.1 overs.
This is Rajasthan’s second straight loss after they won their first two matches.
Padikkal Smashes Third Fifty, Virat Scores 72*
After opener Aaron Finch (8) fell to Shreyas Gopal post a successful review, Padikkal and Kohli combined to stitch a match-winning partnership.
The duo added 99 runs together before the 20-year-old Padikkal was castled by Jofra Archer on 64 (off 45 balls).
The 20-year-old playing in his maiden IPL season, smashed his third half-century in four matches, off 34 deliveries. He had earlier scored a 56 against Sunrisers Hyderabad and 54 against Mumbai Indians.
Captain Kohli on the other hand, finally managed to make a significant contribution, scoring his maiden half-century this season. After scoring 14, 1, 3 in the first three games, Virat scored an unbeaten 53-ball 72.
After Padikkal’s dismissal, RCB were reduced to 124/2, still needing 31 runs from 24 balls. Kohli then combined with AB de Villiers (12* off 10 balls) to take his team across the line as they moved up to the top of the league standings.
Lomror Saves RR’s Faltering Innings
Royals didn't have a great start as they lost skipper Steve Smith (5), Jos Buttler (22) and Sanju Samson (4) inside the first five overs with just 31 runs on the board.
Lomror – who was playing his first match in this IPL season – then took control of the innings and along with Robin Uthappa, took the team's score to 70. Uthappa looked to be finding his form before his 17-run knock came to an end in the 11th over.
Uthappa's dismissal, however, didn't affect Lomror as he held one end and stitched another 35-run partnership with Riyan Parag. Parag was dismissed after contributing with 16 while Lomror felt short of scoring a well-deserved fifty as he lost his wicket while going for a maximum and was caught at long off after scoring 47.
Rahul Tewatia and Jofra Archer then added 40 runs in the last 20 balls to take the team's score past 150 mark. While Tewatia remained not out on 24 (12 balls), Archer contributed with unbeaten 16 from 10 deliveries as Rajasthan managed 154/6 in their allotted 20 overs.
For Bangalore, Yuzvendra Chahal starred with the ball as he returned with figures of 3/24 from his four overs. Isuru Udana also picked up two wickets but he was expensive, giving away 41 runs in his full quota of overs. Navdeep Saini also chipped in with a wicket.
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