IPL 2023: RCB edge RR by 7 runs in last-over thriller in Bengaluru

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) held their nerve to register a seven-run victory over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in a last-over thriller in IPL 2023 at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday (April 23).

Chasing 190 for a win, RR fell short despite Dhruv Jurel’s cameo, finishing with 182/6 in 20 overs. Devdutt Padikkal (52 off 34) top-scored for RR while Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell were the batting stars for the home side.

Padikkal struck his maiden fifty of the season and Yashasvi Jaiswal made 47 for a 98-run partnership for the second wicket but RR were lagging behind in the run chase before gaining momentum in the last five overs.

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Jurel hit 34 not out off just 16 balls (2×4; 2×6) as RR scored 61 runs off the last five overs, losing three wickets in the process. But they fell short by seven runs.

RR needed 20 runs off the final over bowled by Harshal Patel but could score only 12. RR thus suffered their third defeat in seven matches but remained at the top of the points table due to a superior net run rate (0.844). RCB are fifth in the table with four wins.

Harshal (4-0-32-3) was the pick of the RCB bowlers while David Willey (4-0-26-1) and Mohammed Siraj (4-0-39-1) also played their parts.

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Maxwell-Du Plessis century stand

Earlier, du Plessis (62) and Maxwell’s (77) century stand threatened to take RCB to a massive total before RR fought back to restrict them to 189 for 9.

Maxwell and du Plessis added 127 runs for the third wicket in only 66 balls, which was the third time the pair crossed 100-run mark in seven matches so far this season. Earlier, du Plessis and Maxwell had put on 115 runs from 50 balls against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and 126 from 61 balls against Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

But RCB stuttered once the momentum was broken after the dismissal of du Plessis, run out off a brilliant direct throw from Yashasvi Jaiswal in the 14th over. The home side collapsed from 139/2 to 189/9, losing seven wickets for 50 runs at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

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5th half-century for Du Plessis

Du Plessis extended his overall tally to 405 runs in just seven matches with his fifth half-century – the most for any batter so far. His 39-ball knock had eight fours and two sixes.

On the other hand, Maxwell struck his third fifty of this IPL to make a 44-ball 77 (6x4s, 4x6s) but the rest of the RCB batters squandered the platform set up brilliantly by their top order.

Dinesh Karthik (11) was the only other RCB batter to score in double digits. RR bowlers were particularly impressive in the final five overs as they pulled things back with a disciplined effort, while also affecting two run-outs.

None of the RR bowlers could, however, trouble either Maxwell or du Plessis, who batted with utmost ease. The two batters came together when RCB were put in a spot of bother by Royals pacer Trent Boult (2/41), who rocked them early twice in his first two overs.

Kohli’s golden duck

Boult gave a perfect start to RR when he pinned RCB captain Virat Kohli (0) in front of the wickets for the first breakthrough on the first ball of the game, which was his 100th overall wicket in IPL.

The left-arm pacer then returned for a second over and had Shahbaz Ahmed (2) caught at short midwicket by Yashasvi Jaiswal. Du Plessis and Maxwell counterattacked, with the former taking a special liking for Sandeep Sharma (2/49), hitting him for three fours and two sixes in two overs.

Maxwell also took the aggressive route to help RCB make the most of the powerplay, at the end of which they were 62/2. Royals spin pair of Ravichandran Ashwin (1/36) and Yuzvendra Chahal (4-0-28-1) did a decent job.

🔙 to 🔙 victories for @RCBTweets 😎

Impact Player @HarshalPatel23 gets the job done for his side as #RCB complete a 7-run win over #RR 🙌🏻

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/lHmH28JwFm#TATAIPL | #RCBvRR pic.twitter.com/tBfj4otND4

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 23, 2023

(With agency inputs)