Rajasthan Royals (RR) continued their impressive show in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) as they defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 29 runs at the MCA Stadium, Pune on Tuesday (April 26).
Invited to bat first, RR posted a competitive 144/8 in their 20 overs on the back of Riyan Parag’s 56 not out off 31 balls. Skipper Sanju Samson was the second-best scorer with 21-ball 27.
For RCB, Josh Hazlewood (2-19), Wanindu Hasaranga (2-23) and Mohammed Siraj (2-30) claimed two wickets each while Harshal Patel returned with the figures of 1 for 33 in his four overs.
Chasing the modest target, RCB’s innings folded for a paltry 115 in 19.3 overs. It was a listless batting display by the Bangalore-based franchise as no one even managed to touch the 30-run mark. Captain Faf du Plessis was the top scorer with 23.
Kuldeep Sen (4-20) and R Ashwin (3-17) starred with the ball for RR, sharing seven wickets between them. Prasidh Krishna was also brilliant with the new ball and returned with the figures of 2 for 23 in his four overs.
Cricket experts on Twitter lauded Rayan Parag for his knock, four catches in the match and the RR bowlers for comprehensively defending the modest total.
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