BENGALURU: The crucial partnership between Faf Du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell took Royal Challengers Bangalore’s total to 189/9 in 20 overs against Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Karnataka’s Bengaluru on Sunday.
Virat Kohli and Faf Du Plessis stepped onto the pitch as RCB were asked to bat first. RR pace bowler Trent Boult drew the first blood as Virat Kohli walked back to the pavilion for a golden duck 0(1). The inswinging delivery from the left armer has been the Achilles heel of Kohli for the past few overs. Shahbaz Ahmed came in but lost his wicket to Boult in the third over of the match.
Du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell stepped up once again to bring RCB’s innings back on track. They dealt in boundaries and at the end of the powerplay RCB managed to put a score of 62/2 on the board. Maxwell and Du Plessis continued their onslaught on Rajasthan bowlers. Maxwell completed his quick-fire half-century in 9.4 overs.
RCB crossed the 100-run mark with a four on the final ball of the 10th over. At halfway point of the first innings, RCB had a score of 101/2 on the board.
However, RCB started to lose momentum in the 14th over as they have in the previous matches. Yashasvi Jaiswal produced a sensational effort in the field as he sent Faf Du Plessis back to the dugout for a score of 62(39) following a runout. Ravichandran Ashwin followed up quickly and picked up the wicket of Glenn Maxwell on the final ball of the 15th over for a score of 77(44).
In the remaining five overs RCB lost the wickets on a consistent basis. Suyash Prabhudessai, Wanindu Hasaranga and Mahipal Lomror failed to reach double digits as they ended up losing their wickets of 0(2), 6(7) and 8(6) respectively. Dinesh Karthik tried to put up a fight and take RCB’s total close to the 200 run-mark, but he ended up losing his wicket in the final over. Sandeep Sharma produced an economical final over to keep RCB’s score below 200.
RCB ended their innings with a score of 189/9 in 20 overs.
Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 189/9 (Glenn Maxwell 77(44), Faf Du Plessis 62(39) and Trent Boult 2/41) vs Rajasthan Royals. (ANI)