Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals were left frustrated after their IPL encounter was rained off before the second innings could get under way.
The Royals captain Shane Watson won the toss and asked Royal Challengers to bat and they posted a total of 200 for seven but the heavens opened shortly after their knock ended and despite various interruptions to the downpour, the ground could not be dried in time and play was abandoned.
Royal Challengers didn’t get off to the best start as Chris Gayle was dismissed in the first over for 10, hitting consecutive balls off Tim Southee for four and six then holing out to Deepak Hooda at square-leg. Another key man and their other opener departed shortly afterwards, edging Southee to wicketkeeper Sanju Samson for just one, but that allowed AB de Villiers to take control.
The South African unveiled a wide range of creative shots, treating the Australian left-armer James Faulkner with particular disdain by taking 13 off one over. De Villiers and Mandeep Singh looked to be building a partnership that would take Bangalore far north of 200 but firstly Mandeep was trapped lbw for 27 by Stuart Binny, before De Villiers was run out for 57 in a calamitous mix-up with Dinesh Karthik, leaving the South African stranded as they attempted a quick single that was not there.
However, that merely brought the impudent Sarfaraz Khan to the crease, who at just 17 years old already looks like an extraordinary talent. He scored 45 from 21 balls, an innings that featured a selection of remarkable shots, from ramps to full-blooded pulls, to attempting a reverse-sweep off Faulkner when he returned to the attack. The Australian went for 26 from his two overs. The youngster’s confidence could be clearly seen through the way he gave the much more experienced Karthik a thorough scolding for getting run out on 27, after playing a few big shots himself.
Bangalore ended their innings on 200 for seven after Sarfaraz and David Wiese combined for some big late hitting, the latter holing out in the penultimate over.
The teams were awarded one point each moving the Royals level on 12 with the Chennai Super Kings at the top of the table.
