Rajasthan Royals have shown daring spirit in this IPL with their ability to bounce back from seemingly difficult situations. On Tuesday at the MCA Stadium in Pune, they successfully defended 144, the lowest in this edition.
Jos Buttler had proved to be their saviour with three centuries thus far but their depth and versatility showed in their 29-run victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore. Buttler was dismissed for just eight but Riyan Parag first bailed them out with a fighting 56 not out and then the bowling unit proved equal to the task.
The drubbing at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad seem to have served as a wake-up call for only the RCB bowlers. The batting was a litany of atrocious stroke making at the top that percolated down the order.
Desperate times also call for desperate measures as RCB decided to open the innings with two of their best batsmen — Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli. It was an effort to try and restore sanity in the batting after being dismissed for 68 against the Sunrisers.
The move, however, didn’t bring about a change in Kohli’s fortunes. After being dismissed for golden ducks in the last two matches, he survived 10 balls for his nine. It hardly did justice to his reputation as he seemed enveloped by self-doubt and dismal footwork before falling prey to poor shot selection.
Having survived close calls twice in the first over, including an uppish flick that landed inches short at short square leg, he was beaten for pace by Prasidh Krishna.
The uncertainty in their batting showed as the top order crumbled in the face of a disciplined Royals attack. Du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell were dismissed off consecutive deliveries by the talented Kuldeep Sen (4/20) and the rest just gave in. This included a suicidal run-out by Dinesh Karthik.
The Royals attack was at their lethal best. Prasidh’s commitment, Sen’s skiddy pace along with Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal’s superlative effort to set benchmarks have been exemplary.
Parag took up the cudgels for the Royals after they were reduced to 33/3 inside the Powerplay overs. The RCB batters lacked this trait which led to their downfall.
