Duo adds 67 off 32 balls as RCB hunt down 169 to hand Royals 1st loss
In the end, it was the finishing flourish from the cool and calm pair of Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaz Ahmed that turned the match in Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) favour at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday.
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Stuttering at 87/5 in 13 overs, veteran Karthik not only soaked up the pressure en route his 23-ball 44*, but also emboldened youngster Ahmed (45 off 26 balls) who joined his senior in routing Sanju Samson's high-flying Rajasthan Royals.
Chasing 170, a target that gained respectability in the last three overs when Royals' Jos Buttler and Shimron Hetymer took the score from 118 to 169, RCB got off to a decent start, scoring 48 in the Powerplay.
Tormenting RCB with drift and turn, off-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal engineered the first breakthrough, dismissing Faf du Plessis in the seventh over of the innings and sending David Willey packing in the ninth. In between, Anuj Rawat (26 off 25) gifted his wicket to Navdeep Saini, edging in an attempt to play towards the third man, and Virat Kohli (5 off 6 balls) fell prey to an unfortunate run-out.
But the RCB chase came back to life after Karthik joined Ahmed.
Earlier, having decided to field first, the RCB bowlers put Royals to the test on a sluggish wicket. The complexion of the game changed from one of vulnerability to growing confidence when in-form Buttler and Hetmyer, who stitched a 83-run partnership, upped the ante in the last three overs. The opener's 70 not out off 47 balls, including six sixes, also got him the Orange Cap back. Hetmyer gave good company, slamming a 31-ball 42.
1/10:RCB win battle of the Royals
<p>Powerful knocks by Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaz Ahmed led Royal Challengers Bangalore to a four-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League on Tuesday. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
2/10:Match-winning stand
<p>Chasing 170 for victory, Bangalore were in trouble at 87/5 when Karthik (44*) and Shahbaz Ahmed (45) put on an attacking partnership of 67 to achieve the target with five balls to spare in Mumbai. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
3/10:Cautious start
<p>Put into bat, Jos Buttler started cautiously on a slow Wankhede Stadium pitch but finished with a flourish in his 47-ball knock to steer Royals to 169/3. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
4/10:Late flourish
<p>Buttler (70*) and Shimron Hetmyer (42*) put on an unbeaten stand of 83 for the fourth wicket as they plundered 42 runs off the final two overs. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
5/10:The Buttler blast
<p>Buttler raised his fifty with a hit over the fence and smashed six sixes in his innings and also put on a key stand of 70 with Devdutt Padiakkal (37). (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
6/10:RCB's strong start
<p>In reply, skipper Faf du Plessis and Anuj Rawat started strongly with an opening stand of 55 before Chahal broke through to send back Faf for 29. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
7/10:Virat Kohli run out
<p>Chahal then ran out of Virat Kohli, for five, at the non-striker's end and the upbeat bowler bowled David Willey on the next ball. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
8/10:Karthik vs Ashwin
<p>Karthik took on Ravichandran Ashwin in a 21-run over and finished with seven fours and one six in his 23-ball blitz. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
9/10:Destructive Shahbaz
<p>Shahbaz was equally destructive as he took on the Royals bowlers including Trent Boult for a four and six before being bowled by the New Zealand left-arm quick. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
10/10:RCB's second successive win
<p>Karthik stood firm with Harshal Patel who hit the winning six for Bangalore's second successive win and hand Royals their first loss in three games. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>Harshal Patel was the pick of the RCB bowlers, recording figures of 4-0-18-1, followed by David Willey who returned with 4-0-29-1.
The Royals struggled to get going in the powerplay and could only manage 35 runs for the loss of one wicket. Both the openers, Yashasvi Jaiswal (4 off 6 balls) and Buttler looked tentative in that six-over period that saw Mohammed Siraj and Willey strangulate the flow of runs, making the batsmen's stay at the crease difficult.
Taking on left-arm seamer Willey, Jaiswal succumbed in his attempt to drive a length delivery that came swinging in and went through his gate.
Unlike his teammates, left-hand batter Devdutt Padikkal (37 off 29 balls) looked confident and found options to score.
