Royal Challengers Bangalore produced a 'Royal' performance to hand Rajasthan Royals a crushing defeat.
RCB made it two-in-two over RR this season. While in their first meeting, Challengers clinched a narrow 7 run win, Sunday's contest panned out very differently, with RCB handing Royals their biggest-ever defeat in the league.
For Challengers this season, their top three batters have consistently stolen the show. But Sunday, though the batters did their bit, it was the bowlers who took the match away from the Royals.
With just one game in hand, Sanju Samson's side, who began the season on a rocking note, now have to not only win their final game, but also wait for other results to go their way.
For the Challengers it was two crucial points along with a massive boost to their net run-rate, which saw Faf du Plessis's side to climb above RR on the points table.
Let's take a look at RCB's architects of Sunday's massive win at the Sawai Mansingh stadium in Jaipur.
Faf-Max and young Rawat
On a very hot and sunny afternoon in Jaipur, Challengers opted to bat first. Virat Kohli and Faf handed the visitors a steady start. The pair put up fifty off 42 for the opening stand, before K M Asif removed Kohli.
With the hard-hitting Glenn Maxwell joined Fafin the middle, one can only expect fireworks. Though it was a tough pitch to bat on, the pair both scored half-centuries to set RCB up for a modest total.
Du Plessis, who scored his seventh fifty of the season, brought it up off 41 deliveries. He also brought up 4,000 runs in the IPL and became only the fourth overseas players to cross the mark. The other foreign players to reach 4k are Chris Gayle, David Warner and A B de Villiers.
Maxwell once again played a sizzling knock, a 33-ball 54. He took the spinners, including Yuzvendra Chahal -- IPL 2023'S highest wicket-taker -- to the cleaners. Though MaxI and Faf played important knocks, it was Anuj Rawat who took the RCB score above par.
Rawat, coming in at No. 7, hammered an unbeaten 11-ball 29 to take RCB to 171/5. An innings laced with two sixes and three boundaries.
RCB bowlers
With the batters doing their bit, the bowlers stepped up and how! The sizzling display saw Royals fold for the third lowest score in the IPL.
RR also posted the second lowest total in the IPL, and that too was against RCB!
Five lowest innings total in the IPL:
49: RCB vs KKR in 2017
58: RR vs RCB in 2009
59: RR vs RCB in 2023
66: DD vs MI in 2017
67: KKR vs MI in 2008
RCB bowling RR out in 10.3 overs was the second shortest all-out innings in the IPL.
Wayne Parnell led the way with three wickets. Parnell's wicket haul included the huge scalps of Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson and Joe Root.
Apart from Parnell, the other RCB wicket-takers were Mohammed Siraj, who set the ball rolling with Yashasvi Jaiswal's wicket, along with Michael Bracewell, Karn Sharma and Glenn Maxwell.
A comprehensive show by the bowling unit and clinical fielding saw Challengers register their fourth win with a 100+ win margin.
