Rajasthan Royals suffer shocking batting collapse as RCB bundle out hosts for just 59 in massive 112-run win; Jaipur witnesses third lowest IPL total
RCB players celebrate the wicket of RR’s Joe Root at Jaipur yesterday. Pic/BCCI; IPL
Rajasthan Royals (RR) dished out one of the most inexplicable batting performances of the Indian Premier League as they were dismissed for just 59, suffering a massive 112-run defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) here on Sunday.
Chasing 172 for a win, RR suffered a stunning batting collapse to be bundled out in just 10.3 overs for the third-lowest total in IPL history with only Shimron Hetmyer (35 off 19 balls) and Joe Root (10 off 15 balls) scoring in double-digit figures.
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It was RR’s second-lowest total as they just about managed to go past their earlier lowest of 58 against the same opponents in 2009 by one run.
RCB’s Wayne Parnell is ecstatic after claiming the wicket of RR opener Jos Buttler yesterday. Pic/AFP
RR batters failed to give a fight as they kept on playing shots when the situation demanded to stick for a while on a slow and tricky wicket.
RCB bowlers exploited the lack of application by RR batters and game sense as all of them returned with wickets. Wayne Parnell was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets for 10 runs from his three overs. Michael Bracewell and Karn Sharma took two wickets each while Mohammed Siraj and Glenn Maxwell got one each.
RCB jump to 5th spot
With the win, RCB jumped to the fifth spot with 12 points from 12 matches to be in contention for a play-off berth while RR moved down to sixth with 12 points from 13 matches.
RR lost five wickets for 25 runs in the Powerplay with Parnell taking two, including that of Jos Buttler (0) and captain Sanju Samson (4).
But it was Siraj, who had opened the floodgates by getting the wicket of in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal (0). The youngster failed to control his shot and offered a simple catch to Virat Kohli at mid-off in the second ball of the RR run chase.
Earlier, captain Faf du Plessis and Maxwell struck half-centuries as RCB posted a challenging 171-5 after opting to bat.
Du Plessis (55 off 44 balls) and Maxwell (54 off 33 balls) continued their strong form on a slower pitch, but RR produced a disciplined bowling effort to stop RCB to a competitive total.
Also Read: Royals crumble to big defeat as RCB reign supreme to stay in playoff hunt
Anuj Rawat hit 29 not out off just 11 balls down the order to take the RCB total past the 170 mark as they added 51 runs in the last five overs.
Australian left-arm spinner Adam Zampa (4-0-25-2) and pacer KM Asif (4-0-42-2) were the most successful Royals bowlers, while Sandeep Sharma got one wicket.
Samson has ‘no answer’
Samson had “no answer” to the dismal performance his batters dished out on Sunday.
On the floundering campaign in the second half of the IPL, Samson said, “That is a great question, actually. I was thinking about it and where it went wrong. Sorry, I do not have an answer for that.”
RCB skipper Du Plessis said the improvement in the net run-rate after the big win will do his side a world of good. “We needed it, in terms of the NRR. It was a really difficult pitch when we batted first. Even in the Powerplay, the ball was keeping low and we felt that 160 would be a good score. Those hits towards the end pushed us to a very good score. We have not quite managed to do it [finish off strongly] well,” he said.
Brief scores
RCB 171-5 in 20 overs (F du Plessis 55, G Maxwell 54; A Zampa 2-25, KM Asif 2-42) beat RR 59 all out in 10.3 overs (S Hetmyer 35; W Parnell 3-10, M Bracewell 2-16, K Sharma 2-19) by 112 runs
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