Riyan Parag smashed a brilliant unbeaten 56 with the bat and then bagged three important catches in the field as the Rajasthan Royals put in a clinical performance against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The Sanju Samson-led RR won the game by 29 runs in Pune, as RCB lost their second consecutive game.
None of the batters had it easy on the day with Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj and Wanindu Hasaranga picking two wickets each for RCB while Kuldeep Sen picked 4 and R Ashwin bagged 3 for the Royals. The Purple Cap holder Yuzvendra Chahal went wicketless on the day.
Parag scored a half-century and finished with 4 catches as RR defended the lowest total in this season's IPL so far. RR scored 144/8 while RCB were bowled out for 115.
Batting first, the Royals had a bad start, with the otherwise in-form pair of Devdutt Padikkal and Jos Buttler unable to get the big runs. Padikkal hammered Mohammed Siraj for a six first and then was trapped LBW by the pacer for 7.
Surprisingly, R Ashwin walked in at 3, and kept the scoreboard moving, even as Buttler found it hard to get going for once. Ashwin (17) though was caught and bowled by Siraj, as he looked to pull hard, and right after Josh Hazlewood removed Buttler for 8.
The Royals were in a spot of bother and captain Sanju Samson had to dig them out. The Royals ended the powerplay with the score at 43/3 with Harshal Patel and Wanindu Hasaranga doing well to keep things tight.
Samson and Daryl Mitchell put on 35 runs off 32 deliveries before Samson departed, cleaned up by Hasaranga. Mitchell added 16 to the cause as the Royals lost half their side before reaching the 100-run mark. Mitchell was Hazlewood’s second wicket.
At the other end Riyan Parag was trying his best to find the big hits, which had deserted all the Royals’ batters on the day. He had Shimron Hetmyer for company, but Hasaranga sent him packing, caught in the deep for 3. Trent Boult followed suit for 5, but only after Kohli took a brilliant catch at short midwicket, giving Harshal his first scalp of the day.
With 2 overs left, the Royals were 114/7, and Parag too was finding it tough to pierce the field. The 19th started with Parag hammering a six off Hazlewood, which was a boundary hit after more than 5 overs. Parag was dropped off the next ball by Hasaranga, but Prabhudesai ran out Prasidh Krishna right after, in what turned out to be a 12-run over. Hazlewood finished with figures of 2/19.
Parag took Harshal to the cleaners, sending the bowler in to the crowd of the fourth ball to bring up his half-century. Parag ended the innings with a six and remained unbeaten on 56 off 31 deliveries as RR posted 144/8.
In response, RCB got off to a bad start again. Virat Kohli survived an iffy over off Trent Boult first up and got 9 from it including a couple of boundaries, of which one was streaky. However, in the next over, his luck ran out, as an attempted pull shot caught the toe end of the bat and Parag took a good catch at point, off Prasidh Krishna.
Faf du Plessis and Rajat Patidar then dug in and steadied the ship with a watchful partnership that yielded 27 off 28 deliveries. The duo took RCB through the powerplay, with the score at 37/1.
The Royals then turned to the quick Kuldeep Sen, who first dismissed du Plessis for 23, caught by Buttler, and then had Glenn Maxwell caught at first slip for a golden duck. A hat-trick wasn’t to be but the Royals were taking charge of the game.
Patidar and Shahbaz Ahmed kept the Royals’ bowlers out for a bit, stitching together a 21-run stand, before R Ashwin struck. Patidar was bowled for 16 and then Suyash Prabhudesai fell for 2, looking to up the ante.
The Royals were all over the RCB batting, who were having yet another bad day at the office. The RCB side still had Dinesh Karthik in the mix and that would have given them hope, given his recent form.
The experienced wicket-keeper batter though was the next to depart as miscommunication with Shahbaz was enough for the Royals to get the job done. Yuzvendra Chahal almost dropped the ball and gave DK a life, but the veteran was dismissed for 6.
Under pressure with the required run-rate rising rapidly, Shahbaz had to attack and it was Ashwin who would benefit, picking his third wicket while Parag made it his third catch. Shahbaz walked back for 17 off 27, with RCB in deep trouble.
In the 18th over, Krishna struck again, sending back Siraj for 5 before Kuldeep Sen finished off the game with the wicket of Harshal, again caught by Parag. The Royals won by 29 runs with Kuldeep taking 4 wickets. RCB were bowled out for 115.
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