Royal Challengers Bengaluru players celebrate after winning a crucial match against the Chennai Super Kings at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit: K BHAGYA PRAKASH

When Royal Challengers Bengaluru went on a five-match winning run after hanging on to its fingernails for much of the season, even its most ardent fans wouldn’t have believed that their team’s stars had aligned.

But, on Saturday at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, the most definitive proof for it emerged as RCB beat Chennai Super Kings by 27 runs to qualify for the playoffs.

Rain didn’t play spoilsport as it was expected to.

RCB lost the toss and put on a splendid batting show. And even the best efforts of Ravindra Jadeja (42 n.o., 22b, 3×4, 3×6) and M.S. Dhoni (25, 13b, 3×4, 1×6) couldn’t salvage things for CSK.

RCB made 218, effectively setting CSK 201 to qualify. Jadeja and Dhoni took their side from 129 for six after 15 overs to 184 for six after 19. When Dhoni smashed the first ball of Yash Dayal’s last over out of the ground, it appeared as if RCB had contrived to miss out. But Dayal dismissed Dhoni and held his nerve to carry his side through.

CSK, in fact, appeared well placed at 85 for two with Rachin Ravindra (61b, 37b, 5×4, 3×6) and Ajinkya Rahane (33, 22b, 3×4, 1×6) batting. But it slumped to 119 for five as Lockie Ferguson prised out Rahane, Shivam Dube struggled (7, 15b) and Ravindra was run out. Dhoni Jand adeja brought CSK close to the target, but it was not to be.

Earlier, RCB’s PowerPlay (42 runs) was punctuated by a 41-minute rain break and batting on either side seemed like chalk and cheese. The ball gripped and turned after the interruption as Maheesh Theekshana and Mitchell Santner revelled. Only when the length was marginally fuller did the scoreboard tick, with Virat Kohli (47, 29b, 3×4, 4×6) collecting two slog-swept sixes. A third such attempt to hit against the turn, however, cost him.

Rajat Patidar joined skipper Faf du Plessis (54, 39b, 3×4, 3×6) and was quickly off the blocks, smashing Theekshana over long-off and Simarjeet Singh over fine-leg. But an unfortunate run out ended du Plessis’ stay, curtailing an ominous-looking association.

Cameron Green (38 n.o., 17b, 3×4, 3×6) and Patidar (41, 23b, 2×4, 4×6) put on 71 runs from just 28 balls, with Ruturaj Gaikwad even dropping the burly Australian on 18. Cameos from Dinesh Karthik (14, 6b, 1×4, 1×6) and Glenn Maxwell (16, 5b, 2×4, 1×6) gave RCB the cushion which ultimately proved worth of qualification.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru players are seen during an Indian Premier league 2024 match. Royal Challengers Bengaluru rose above their frailties to notch four wins on the trot to stay alive in the race to play-offs
| Photo Credit: ANI

Rishabh Pant’s absence will loom large when Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru spar in a must-win clash at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on May 12.

The DC skipper has been suspended for one match after his team maintained a slow over-rate against Rajasthan Royals on May 7. It was Pant’s third such penalty, triggering the ban.

With five wins out of the last seven games, fifth-placed DC, riding on the batting might of Pant, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abishek Porel et al., was looking good for the playoffs. But the side will now have to do without its maverick batter and top-scorer Pant (413 runs at SR 156.43).

Axar Patel will lead in his absence and it helps that the left-arm spinner has been one of DC’s standout players. In 12 games this season, the 30-year-old has bowled 40 miserly overs at an economy rate 7.32, an astonishing number in an IPL where totals in excess of 240 have become par for the course.

But in a rejuvenated RCB, DC will find a tough opponent. Faf du Plessis’ men lost seven of their first eight matches, but have strung together four successive wins to still have a shot at the playoffs.

A settled batting line-up led by the in-form Virat Kohli has been instrumental in this turnaround, and so has the blossoming of the spin-combination involving leggie Karn Sharma and left-armer Swapnil Singh.

However, the weather could prove a spoiler. After a scorching summer, the parched souls in the Garden City have joyously welcomed evening showers this past week. But for once, they will want the rain to stay away.

Teams (from):

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan.

Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abishek Porel, Shai Hope, Rishabh Pant (wk/c, suspended and unavailable), Sumit Kumar, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Kumar Kushagra, Praveen Dubey, Lalit Yadav, Lizaad Williams, David Warner, Jhye Richardson, Anrich Nortje, Yash Dhull, Mitchell Marsh, Ricky Bhui, Rasikh Dar Salam, Vicky Ostwal, Swastik Chikara.

Match starts at 7.30 PM.

An authoritative Royal Challengers Bengaluru shut down Gujarat Titans by four wickets at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Saturday.

A third win in a row pushed RCB to seventh on the points table, providing impetus to its playoff hopes.

The home team outplayed GT in all departments. A disciplined bowling performance restricted GT to 147, before a belligerent knock from Faf du Plessis (64, 23b, 10×4, 3×6) left GT with nowhere to hide.

Power play

With an eye on improving the net run-rate, du Plessis and opening partner Virat Kohli put on a whopping 92 runs in 5.5 overs. The electric start helped RCB reach the target with 6.2 overs to spare.

Kohli (42, 27b, 2×4, 4×6) went past Chennai Super Kings’ Ruturaj Gaikwad to regain his place as the tournament’s highest run-scorer.

RCB experienced minor jitters when it fell to 117 for six, but the experienced Dinesh Karthik (21 n.o.) ensured a job well done. RCB’s memorable night out was set up by a brilliant display with the ball.

The fast bowlers — Mohammed Siraj, V. Vyshak, Yash Dayal, and Cameron Green — were destructive on a pitch which offered extra carry.

GT did itself no favours by moving at a snail’s pace with the bat.

The perplexing trend was started by openers Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill, who scratched about to get two runs in the first two overs.

The first boundary of the essay came in the fourth over, when an inside edge gave Shahrukh Khan some respite.

GT crawled to 23 for three in six overs— the lowest PowerPlay score thus far in IPL 2024.

The tedious repair work was left to David Miller and Shahrukh.

Miller received a life on 23, when Karn Sharma dropped a straightforward chance at deep square-leg. It did not prove to be costly, as Karn deceived Miller with a flighted delivery a short while later.

An athletic piece of fielding from Kohli got rid of the dangerous Shahrukh (37).

Kohli swooped in, picked up the ball and threw down the stumps at the non-strikers’ end to leave Shahrukh short of the crease.

GT’s hopes of recording a substantial total vanished with Shahrukh’s dismissal.

SCOREBOARD

GUJARAT TITANS

Wriddhiman Saha c Karthik b Siraj 1 (7b), Shubman Gill c Vyshak b Siraj 2 (7b), Sai Sudharsan c Kohli b Green 6 (14b), Shahrukh Khan (run out) 37 (24b, 5×4, 1×6), David Miller c Maxwell b Karn 30 (20b, 3×4, 2×6), Rahul Tewatia c Vyshak b Dayal 35 (21b, 5×4, 1×6), Rashid Khan b Dayal 18 (14b, 2×4, 1×6), Vijay Shankar (Impact Player in place of Sai Sudharsan) c Siraj b Vyshak 10 (7b, 2×4), Manav Suthar c Swapnil b Vyshak 1 (2b), Mohit Sharma (run out) 0 (1b), Noor Ahmad (not out) 0 (0b); Extras (b-2, lb-1, w-4): 7; Total (in 19.3 overs): 147.

FALL OF WICKETS

1-1 (Saha, 1.3 overs), 2-10 (Gill, 3.5), 3-19 (Sai Sudharsan, 5.3), 4-80 (Miller, 11.4), 5-87 (Shahrukh, 12.4), 6-131 (Rashid, 17.3), 7-136 (Tewatia, 17.6), 8-147 (Suthar, 19.1), 9-147 (Mohit, 19.2).

RCB BOWLING

Swapnil 1-0-1-0, Siraj 4-0-29-2, Dayal 4-0-21-2, Green 4-0-28-1, Vyshak 3.3-0-23-2, Karn 3-0-42-1.

ROYAL CHALLENGERS

Virat Kohli c Saha b Noor 42 (27b, 2×4, 4×6), Faf du Plessis c Shahrukh b Little 64 (23b, 10×4, 3×6), Will Jacks c Shahrukh b Noor 1 (3b), Rajat Patidar (Impact Player in place of Dayal) c Miller b Little 2 (3b), Glenn Maxwell c Miller b Little 4 (3b, 1×4), Cameron Green c Shahrukh b Little 1 (2b), Dinesh Karthik (not out) 21 (12b, 3×4), Swapnil Singh (not out) 15 (9b, 2×4, 1×6); Extras (lb-1, w-1): 2; Total (for six wkts. in 13.4 overs): 152.

FALL OF WICKETS

1-92 (du Plessis, 5.5), 2-99 (Jacks, 6.5), 3-103 (Patidar, 7.3), 4-107 (Maxwell, 7.6), 5-111 (Green, 9.5), 6-117 (Kohli, 10.4).

TITANS BOWLING

Mohit 2-0-32-0, Little 4-0-45-4, Suthar 2-0-26-0, Noor 4-0-23-2, Rashid 1.4-0-25-0.

Toss: RCB.

PoM: Siraj.

RCB won by four wickets with 38 balls to spare.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be meeting Gujarat Titans in Bengaluru to notch a mandatory win to keep the dream of reaching playoffs flickering.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Having notched up wins in its last two fixtures, Royal Challengers Bengaluru has kept its IPL playoff hopes alive. RCB will strive to keep the momentum going with a good result against Gujarat Titans in Bengaluru on May 4.

RCB holds sway, having gotten past the same opponent last week at Ahmedabad. The victory was set up by a brilliant unbeaten 41-ball 100 from Will Jacks, with Virat Kohli (70 n.o.) playing the supporting role.

Unlike many other sides, RCB has not been able to take full advantage of home conditions. Faf du Plessis and his men have managed only one positive result in four games held at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here.

Jacks believes that RCB is now well poised to do well at home, given that their batters have found form. “We do not want to focus on our losing record here. Because of the playing conditions, it is hard to have home advantage. The pitches are good and the boundaries are small. If a batter gets going, it is hard to stop. Now that our batters are in form, we can hopefully finish our home games strongly,” Jacks said.

The city welcomed a long-awaited spell of rain on Friday, even if it mildly disrupted the training schedule of the teams. The skies cleared up later, allowing players to get a hit under lights.

Much like RCB, GT is teetering on the edge of elimination. With eight points from 10 matches, the visitor needs to get on a winning streak to push for a playoff spot. GT must address its bowling woes, having conceded 200-plus scores in its last two outings.

Teams (from):

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan.

Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), David Miller, Matthew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Abhinav Manohar, B. Sai Sudharsan, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmad, Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma, Azmatullah Omarzai, Umesh Yadav, Shahrukh Khan, Sushant Mishra, Kartik Tyagi, Manav Suthar, Spencer Johnson, Sandeep Warrier, BR Sharath.

Match starts at 7.30 PM.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru player Will Jacks during his brilliant century knock at the Indian Premier League 2024 match against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on April28, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Vijay Soneji

The Indian Batting League — also known as the Indian Premier League — continues to make the bowlers question their wisdom of opting for their profession.

Another score of 200 or more was chased down with ridiculous ease on Sunday. Put in to bat, Gujarat Titans had made 200 for three, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru stormed past that total with four overs and nine wickets to spare to post its third win, and the second in as many games.

That man who has mastered the art of chasing was there till the end. And Virat Kohli played brilliantly, but he was overshadowed at the Narendra Modi Stadium by Will Jacks.

The Indian superstar didn’t mind that at all; he didn’t hide his emotion when he watched Will Jacks completing his stunning hundred with a six, the only way to reach the landmark, as just one was required at that time.

Kohli (70 n.o., 44b, 6×4, 3×6) and Jacks (100 n.o., 41b, 5×4, 10×6) put on 166 for the unfinished second wicket. That was after Kohli and captain Faf du Plessis raced to 40 within four overs.

Jacks may have taken some time to get going; he was on 16 off as many balls after 10 overs. His partner had by that time reached another fifty, this time off 32 balls. The Englishman soon tore into the GT attack.

After hitting Mohit Sharma for a six and a four in the 11th over, he targeted the seamer again when he came back for his second over. He clobbered him for 28 runs in the 15th over which also had a no-ball.

In the next over, Kohli took a single off Rashid Khan’s first ball to let Jacks finish the job. That over also produced 29, with the last ball dispatched over deep mid-wicket.

Earlier, it took an 86-run stand from the two Tamil Nadu batters B. Sai Sudharshan (84 n.o., 49b, 8×4, 4×6) and M. Shahrukh Khan (58, 30b, 3×4, 5×6) to recover from 45 for two in 6.4 overs. The ploy to send Shahrukh at No. 4 worked, but his big hits were to be upstaged by Jacks’.

Scoreboard

Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha c Sharma b Swapnil Singh 5 Shubman Gill c Green b Maxwell 16 Sai Sudharsan not out 84 M Shahrukh Khan b Mohammed Siraj 58 David Miller not out 26 Extras: (LB-1 NB-1 W-9) 11

Total: (For 3 wickets in 20 overs) 200

Fall of wickets: 1/6 2/45 3/131

Royal Challengers Bengaluru bowling: Swapnil Singh 3-0-23-1, Mohammed Siraj 4-0-34-1, Yash Dayal 4-0-34-0, Glenn Maxwell 3-0-28-1, Karn Sharma 3-0-38-0, Cameron Green 3-0-42-0.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Innings: Virat Kohli not out 70 Faf du Plessis c (sub)Vijay Shankar b Sai Kishore 24 Will Jacks not out 100 Extras: (B-4, LB-4, W-3, NB-1) 12

Total: (1 wkt, 16 Overs) 206

Fall of Wickets: 1-40.

Gujarat Titans bowling: Azmatullah Omarzai 2-0-18-0, Sandeep Warrier 1-0-15-0, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore 3-0-30-1, Rashid Khan 4-0-51-0, Noor Ahmad 4-0-43-0, Mohit Sharma 2-0-41-0.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru players Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar are seen in action during the Indian Premier League 2024 match in Hyderabad on April 25, 2024.
| Photo Credit: R. Ragu

Royal Challengers Bengaluru delivered a stunning all-round performance to upset crowd-favourite Sunrisers Hyderabad, registering a 35-run victory in their IPL league match, at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium on Thursday.

The visitors’ performance also served a reminder that the SRH batting line-up can be brittle in the face of accurate, if not unplayable, bowling and also raised hopes for other teams as the championship heads for the business-end.

Chasing 207 for victory, the home team was straightaway under pressure with Will Jacks inducing a poor stroke from the dangerous Impact Player Travis Head off the sixth ball of the innings.

Soon, fellow-opener Abhishek Sharma’s cameo ended, mistiming a pull off Yash Dayal only to be caught behind, before SRH’s Impact Player, the left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh, trapped Aiden Markram leg-before with a low full-toss.

RCB was back on top again when Heinrich Klaasen, who had hit the previous ball from Swapnil for a six over long-on, perished trying to repeat the stroke off the next.

Later, leg-spinner Karn Sharma had Nitish Kumar Reddy bowled, missing a reverse sweep, and then took a smart return catch to send back the dangerous Abdul Samad to reduce SRH to 85 for six in 9.1 overs. The rest of the innings was a formality as RCB notched up a much-needed victory.

Coming good

Earlier, Rajat Patidar’s brilliance at the top of the order, an unusually slow half-century by Virat Kohli, and a cameo in the final overs by Cameron Green helped Royal Challengers score a challenging 206 for seven.

Though Kohli struggled to get going after all his boundaries came within the first six overs, Patidar compensated by scoring a 20-ball half-century that included four sixes off leg-spinner Mayank Markande in the 11th over of the innings.

Jaydev Unadkat was the pick of the SRH bowlers with a three-wicket haul, including the prize scalps of Patidar and Kohli. RCB scored 64 runs from the last five overs, mainly due to some lusty blows from Green.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s captain Faf du Plessis
| Photo Credit: PTI

Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Faf Du Plessis has copped a ₹12 lakh fine, while Punjab Kings captain has been penalised 50% of his match fees for their respective offences, the IPL announced on April 22.

Du Plessis was fined for maintaining a slow over rate during RCB’s thrilling one-run loss, their seventh of the ongoing season, to Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.

“Mr Faf du Plessis, Captain, Royal Challengers Bengaluru has been fined after his team maintained a slow over-rate during Match 36 of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on April 21, 2024,” an IPL statement read.

It was RCB’s first over-rate offence of the season.

Curran, on the other hand, was fined half of his match fees for a Level 1 offence under Article 2.8 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct which refers to “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision” during PBKS’ three-wicket loss to Gujarat Titans in Mullanpur on Sunday.

“Curran committed a Level 1 offence under Article 2.8 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct. He admitted to the offence and accepted the Match Referee’s sanction. For Level 1 breaches of the Code of Conduct, the Match Referee’s decision is final and binding,” an IPL media release stated.

The loss against GT was Punjab’s fourth on the trot, they are now languishing on the ninth place in the points table.

Aware that they cannot afford any more slip-ups, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will have their task cut out when they face dominant hosts Kolkata Knight Riders in a tricky Indian Premier League match in Kolkata on April 21.

RCB’s pursuit of a maiden IPL title has once again hit a roadblock following six losses in seven matches.

With five consecutive defeats, the bottom-ranked RCB now confront the daunting task of winning their remaining seven games to keep their playoff prospects alive.

For a side that has been severely let down by their bowlers and relies heavily on the batting prowess of Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and veteran Dinesh Karthik, facing KKR presents a significant challenge.

“From a bowling perspective, we don’t have as many weapons. So, unfortunately, it comes down to the batters to make sure that we use our form and our confidence. The scores that we put on the board are probably going to be the only way we are going to get into the competition,” their skipper Du Plessis has admitted earlier.

The fact that they are coming after conceding the IPL’s record total of 287/3 by Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last match will undoubtedly linger in the minds of their bowlers.

It would not be a bad idea to bring back their most expensive (Rs 11.5-crore) buy this season, Alzarri Joseph, to go alongside Mohammed Siraj, who was not picked against SRH.

Joseph has bagged a solitary wicket in three appearances for RCB while also getting hammered at 11.89 runs per over.

Glenn Maxwell’s spin also could have been a nice option, but the struggling Australian all-rounder, who pulled out of the game against SRH citing “mental fatigue”, is also battling a hip strain that may keep him out of action for some more time.

Their batting has centred around the two openers — Kohli and Du Plessis — and Karthik, while the rest of the players have failed miserably.

Kohli is once again leading the run chart with 361 runs at 72.20, though his middle over strike rate of 135 has been a cause of concern.

The star Indian batter more often than not was seen to have slowed down against the spinners in the crucial 7-15th over phase after getting a start in the power play.

Du Plessis has been their next best batter with 232 runs, but it’s seasoned wicketkeeper-batter Karthik, who has been phenomenal in his final IPL season.

The veteran has amassed 226 runs at a strike-rate of 205-plus and in the monstrous chase against SRH, it was his 35-ball 83 that gave them hope of scripting an improbable win before they fell short by 25 runs.

The trio will again have to play a key role against the likes of Sunil Narine, Mitchell Starc and Harshit Rana.

The home side will also be coming on the back of a defeat to Rajasthan Royals in a last-ball finish.

So KKR, who have played one match less then RCB, will also eye a return to winning ways and inch closer to playoffs by taking their tally to 10 points at the midway stage.

The biggest threat for RCB will be Narine, not just with the ball but also with the bat at the top of the order.

Narine, who scored his maiden T20 century in their last match against RR, is KKR’s leading run-getter this season with 276 runs at an incredible strike rate of over 187.

The next best KKR batter is his opening partner Phil Salt, who has struck at a rate of 151-plus.

The pair’s splendid form means that the likes of Rinku Singh, Andre Russell have got limited opportunities.

With a maiden fifty to his name, youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi has impressed with his batting.

RCB will have to target the KKR top-three to expose their batting and give themselves some chance.

With the city in the grip of an extreme heat wave, the temperature is expected to soar to 41-degree Centigrade come Sunday.

Teams (from):

Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (c), KS Bharat, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh and Saurav Chauhan.

Match starts at 3.30pm.

Travis Head’s destructive hundred fused splendidly with skipper Pat Cummins’ resolve as Sunrisers Hyderabad registered a well-crafted 25-run victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a high-scoring affair here on Monday.

Head’s maiden T20 hundred (102, 41b, 9×4, 8×6) and Heinrich Klaasen’s pillaging 67 (31b, 2×4, 7×6) drove Sunrisers to a record-breaking 287 for three, also going past their own 277/3 against Mumbai Indians at Hyderabad this March 27.

The visiting bowlers led by Cummins (3/43) showed superb skill level on a barren pitch, something their counterparts lacked, to restrict RCB to 262 for seven. This IPL match also witnessed the highest cumulative runs scored –549 in any single T20 match.

Skipper Faf du Plessis (62, 28b, 7×4, 4×6) and the super-improvising Dinesh Karthik (83, 35b, 5×4, 7×6) played fine hands but on the night they ended as mere footnotes.

However, RCB began their chase of 288 with gusto with Du Plessis and Virat Kohli (42, 20b, 6×4, 2×6) making 50 in just 3.5 overs, bettering SRH’s timing for their 50 in 4.3 overs.

The Faf-Kohli pair reached 79 in the Power Play overs and 80 in 6.2 overs but the introduction of leg-spinner Mayank Markande changed the complexion of the game.

Kohli’s attempt to slog sweep Markande saw the ball sneaking under his bat to rattle the stumps. From that point, the Royal Challengers lost four wickets in the span of 41 runs to slip to 121 for four that also saw a steep climb in the asking rate.

The fourth wicket to fall during that phase was that of Du Plessis. The South African batter smashed Cummins for a four and six in successive balls but feathered a well-directed slower bouncer to Klaasen behind the stumps.

In the same over, the Aussie pacer also trapped Saurav Chauhan in front of the wicket for a naught.

Karthik and Mahipal Lomror (19), who together punished Markande for 25 runs in his last over, milked 59 runs off 29 balls for the sixth wicket, and the former also made 63 for the seventh wicket with Anuj Rawat as RCB moved along briskly.

But in the end, it was sufficient only to provide some artificial excitement to the full house.

Earlier, Head’s destructive hundred was the driving force behind Hyderabad’s imposing total.

The South Australian added 108 runs off 49 balls with his opening partner Abhishek Sharma (34, 22b) and 57 off 26 balls with Klaasen for the second wicket as the hosts’ bowlers wilted under sustained firing.

Head’s batting does not carry the traditional elegance of a left-hander but he more than compensates it with effectiveness.

His innings at the Chinnaswamy Stadium was a telltale example of the simple principles he follows in batting — anything in his hitting arc will disappear far and wide.

The 30-year-old displayed that chilling efficiency against RCB pacers Reece Topley and debutant Lockie Ferguson, who walked in for out-of-form of Glenn Maxwell.

But Ferguson’s first over was an eminently forgettable one, conceding 18 runs. The Kiwi pacer slanted one to Head’s pads and it was flicked over square leg for a six.

Ferguson tried for course correction in the next ball, going a wee bit short.

But Head was up for the challenge, hoisting the ball over mid-on for a massive maximum.

In between, Abhishek, who also played a couple of fine shots, fell to Topley, an uppish flick snaffled by Ferguson at square leg.

But that brought together Head and Klaasen together as RCB were put under the cosh further by SRH’s second-wicket pair.

Head soon fetched his hundred with a brutally-driven boundary off pacer Vysakh Vijayakumar.

However, he perished soon as a mistimed slice off Ferguson was taken by Du Plessis at mid-off.

But the dismissal did not slow down Hyderabad as Klaasen assumed the role of battering ram, bringing up his fifty in just 23 balls.

As is his wont, the South African was severe on spinners and clobbered the part-time left-arm spin of Mahipal Lomror for 18 runs in his only over.

SRH soon went past their own record score of 277 despite Klaasen getting dismissed by Ferguson.

The landmark moment came when Aiden Markram (32, 17b) took a single off Vysakh to long-off.

Markram also added 56 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket alliance with Abdul Samad (37, 10b, 4×4, 3×6) as Hyderabad also smoked 22 sixes, the highest in an IPL innings.

Scoreboard

SUNRISERS HYDERABAD: Abhishek Sharma c Ferguson b Topley 34 (22b, 2×4, 2×6), Travis Head c du Plessis b Ferguson 102 (41b, 9×4, 8×6), Heinrich Klaasen c Vyshak b Ferguson 67 (31b, 2×4, 7×6), Aiden Markram (not out) 32 (17b, 2×4, 2×6), Abdul Samad (not out) 37 (10b, 4×4, 3×6); Extras (lb-2, nb-1, w-12): 15

Total (for three wkts. in 20 overs): 287; Wickets: 1-108 (Abhishek, 8.1 overs), 2-165 (Head, 12.3), 3-231 (Klaasen, 16.6).

Bowling: Jacks 3-0-32-0, Topley 4-0-68-1, Dayal 4-0-51-0, Ferguson 4-0-52-2, Vyshak 4-0-64-0, Lomror 1-0-18-0.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli b Markande 42 Faf du Plessis c Klaasen b Cummins 62 Will Jacks run out 7 Rajat Patidar c Nitish Reddy b Markande 9 Saurav Chauhan lbw b Cummins 0 Dinesh Karthik c Klaasen b Natarajan 83 Mahipal Lomror b Cummins 19 Anuj Rawat not out 25 Vijaykumar Vyshak not out 1 Extras: (B-1, W-13) 14

Total: (For 7 wkts, 20 overs) 262; Wickets: 1-80, 2-100, 3-111, 4-121, 5-122, 6-181, 7-244.

Bowling: Abhishek Sharma 1-0-10-0, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4-0-60-0, Shahbaz Ahmed 1-0-18-0, T Natarajan 4-0-47-1, Pat Cummins 4-0-43-3, Mayank Markande 4-0-46-2, Jaydev Unadkat 2-0-37-0.

Rajasthan Royals’ Jos Buttler celebrates scoring fifty runs during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangaluru in Jaipur, India, Saturday, April 6, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Rajasthan Royals increasingly looks the team to beat. But, the thing is nobody has found a way to do it yet.

Sanju Samson’s men defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru by six wickets with five balls to spare at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Saturday night. Riding on Virat Kohli’s eighth IPL hundred, RCB had made 183 for three.

Game No. 100

The Indian master’s century was nullified by a magnificent one from Jos Buttler (100 n.o., 58b, 9×4, 4×6), in his hundredth IPL game.

He had needed six to reach his sixth IPL century while his team required only one.

Buttler pulled Cameron Green to clear the boundary. His wild celebration meant how much it meant to him after going through a terrible patch.

Four on four

It was the Royals’ fourth win in as many matches. They are now leading the table.

It was Buttler’s 148-run partnership for the second with Samson (69, 42b, 8×4, 2×6) that made the chase look easy. The Royals team management must be relieved with the England superstar’s knock.

With the law of averages seems to be catching up with his opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal, Royals had been somewhat short of runs at the top of the order, but Riyan Parag’s great run meant the team didn’t have to suffer.

After Jaiswal was dismissed off the second ball of the innings — his leading edge off Reece Topley ballooned to Glenn Maxwell at mid-off — Buttler and Samson virtually took the game away from RCB.

The RCB innings had once again been more about Kohli (113 n.o., 72b, 12×4, 4×6). On this night, he got support from captain Faf du Plessis (44, 33b, 2×4, 2×6), who may not have looked at his fluent best, as they put on 125 for the first wicket.

Kohli had indicated he was in nice touch from early on, with a wristy flick to square-leg for four against Nandre Burger and then a gorgeous swivelled-pull for a maximum against the same bowler in the following over.

But, his innings was destined to be overshadowed by Buttler’s.

SCOREBOARD

ROYAL CHALLENGERS

Virat Kohli (not out) 113 (72b, 12×4, 4×6), Faf du Plessis c Buttler b Chahal 44 (33b, 2×4, 2×6), Glenn Maxwell b Burger 1 (3b), Saurav Chauhan c Jaiswal b Chahal 9 (6b, 1×6), Cameron Green (not out) 5 (6b); Extras (lb-2, w-9): 11. Total (for three wkts. in 20 overs): 183.

FALL OF WICKETS

1-125 (du Plessis, 13.6 overs), 2-128 (Maxwell, 14.5), 3-155 (Saurav, 17.2).

ROYALS BOWLING

Boult 3-0-30-0, Burger 4-0-33-1, Ashwin 4-0-28-0, Avesh 4-0-46-0, Chahal 4-0-34-2, Parag 1-0-10-0.

RAJASTHAN ROYALS

Yashasvi Jaiswal c Maxwell b Topley 0 (2b), Jos Buttler (not out) 100 (58b, 9×4, 4×6), Sanju Samson c Dayal b Siraj 69 (42b, 8×4, 2×6), Riyan Parag c Kohli b Dayal 4 (4b, 1×4), Dhruv Jurel c Karthik b Topley 2 (3b), Shimron Hetmyer (not out) 11 (6b, 2×4); Extras (w-3): 3; Total (for four wkts. in 19.1 overs): 189.

FALL OF WICKETS

1-0 (Jaiswal, 0.2), 2-148 (Samson, 14.4), 3-155 (Parag, 15.4), 4-164 (Jurel, 16.3).

RCB BOWLING

Topley 4-0-27-2, Dayal 4-0-37-1, Siraj 4-0-35-1, Dagar 2-0-34-0, Green 3.1-0-27-0, Himanshu (Impact Player in place of Saurav) 2-0-29-0.

Toss: Royals. PoM: Buttler.

RR won by six wickets with five balls to spare.