Royal Challengers Bangalore topple Rajasthan Royals after Maxwell, Faf heroics

The Royal Challengers Bangalore picked up a crucial victory at home against the Rajasthan Royals on Sunday, edging out Sanju Samson’s side by just seven runs in a topsy-turvy encounter at the Chinnaswamy. Half-centuries from Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell lifted RCB to 189 for 9 in their 20 overs before the hosts held their nerve with the ball, picking up wickets at regular intervals to register a narrow win.

Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis have done the bulk of the scoring for RCB in 2023, but the hosts lost one of their openers off the first ball of the match as Kohli departed for a golden duck, falling to a perfect inswinger from Trent Boult that crashed into his pads. Boult also removed Shahbaz Ahmed in his second over, leaving RCB reeling at 12 for 2. However, the early two dismissals failed to dent Bangalore’s hopes as Glenn Maxwell and Faf du Plessis launched an immediate counter-attack.

The duo released the pressure with some dazzling stroke play, with Maxwell driving Boult through the covers and du Plessis creaming Sandeep Sharma for consecutive sixes down the ground. The Australian even swatted Ashwin for a six to take RCB to 62 for 2 to end the powerplay, and the runs continued to flow through the middle.

Chahal was greeted by Maxwell with a reverse sweep for six in his first over before Jason Holder leaked three boundaries against the pair to make it 101 for 2 at the halfway mark. Both batters cruised their way to half-centuries and looked good for a big score before Yashasvi Jaiswal broke the partnership with a moment of magic in the field, running out du Plessis with a direct hit.

The opener’s departure triggered a collapse for RCB at the death, with Maxwell falling in the next over against Ashwin and only 33 runs coming off the last 30 deliveries for the loss of five wickets.

Chasing 190, the Royals suffered a hiccup of their own at the start as Mohammed Siraj cleaned up Jos Buttler for a duck. Rajasthan recovered after the early setback, with Padikkal and Jaiswal adding 98 runs in just 11 overs.

The visitors were in a strong position at 92 for 1 in ten overs, but the chase soon fell apart as Padikkal and Jaiswal holed out to long-on before Sanju Samson found short third man with a cut. Hetmyer struggled with timing and was run out on three, but Dhruv Jurel took the game deep with his 34 off 16. The youngster, though, was kept off strike for the decisive final over, allowing Harshal Patel to close the game out for RCB against Ashwin and Jason Holder.