Rajasthan Royals' opener Jos Buttler hammers 43-ball 59 to help team beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by seven wickets for first win in IPL-12
RR opener Jos Buttler during his 43-ball 59 v RCB in Jaipur last night. Pic/AFP
Englishman Jos Buttler continued his good form in the Indian Premier League with a 43-ball 59 to help Rajasthan Royals chase down Royal Challengers Bangalore's 158-4 with seven wickets and one ball to spare at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here last night.
The RR opener came out all guns blazing and hammered as many as eight boundaries and one six to ensure his team registered their first win of this edition of the multi-million dollar franchise tournament. Rahul Tripathi 34 not out and Ben Stokes one not out ensured RR crossed the finish line with a ball to spare. Yuzvendra Chahal was the top bowler for RCB, claiming 2-17 off his quota of four overs.
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RCB opener Parthiv Patel during his 41-ball 67 which went in vain
Earlier, RR leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal bowled a sensational spell to dismiss key top-order batsmen before Parthiv Patel and Marcus Stoinis propelled RCB to 158 for four off their 20 overs. Gopal claimed three wickets, including that of Virat Kohli (23) and AB de Villiers (13), conceding just 12 runs in his four overs.
Opener Parthiv however, took on the Royals attack with aplomb, hitting a belligerent 67 off 41 balls with nine boundaries and six to help his side put a decent total on board.
Stoinis (31 not out) too played a key part in shoring up the team's total, and adding 32 quick runs in partnership with Moeen Ali (18). Playing with a cautious approach, Kohli was happy working the ball around as Parthiv was the aggressor of the two. Parthiv hit three boundaries in Jofra Archer's first over as RCB finished the Powerplay overs with 48 runs on the board.
Immediately after that, Gopal was introduced in the attack and he began to trouble the Indian captain with his googlies. He eventually deceived Kohli with one which went through the gates.
The leg-spinner returned and this time got rid of De Villiers with another wrong one, which stopped a bit and the South African hit it straight back to Gopal, who bowled a rare wicket-maiden. Left-handed Shimron Hetmyer became his third victim when he edged an away-going delivery and Jos Buttler took a sharp catch behind the wicket.
Also read: King Googlyan reveals the real reason why Ravichandran Ashwin mankaded Jos Buttler
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