New Delhi: Four-wicket haul by Kuldeep Sen and an unbeaten knock of 56 runs by Riyan Parag powered Rajasthan Royals to victory by 29 runs over Royal Challengers Bangalore at MCA stadium on Tuesday.
Apart from Kuldeep, Ravichandran Ashwin took three wickets while Prasidh Krishna settled for two. Chasing 145, RCB had a pathetic start as their star batter Virat Kohli continued having a poor form with the bat and departed after scoring only 9 runs in the second over. He was caught by Riyan Parag on Prasidh Krishna's delivery.
Opener and skipper Faf du Plessis was joined by Rajat Patidar and the duo tried to provide some momentum to Bangalore but the former was caught by Jos Buttler, with only 37 runs on the board, in the 7th over. It was followed by Glenn Maxwell's wicket on the delivery, leaving RCB's total at 37/3.
Patidar was joined by Shahbaz Ahmed, who then anchored the innings for some time. Ravichandran Ashwin sent Patidar back to the dugout in the 10th over with the team's total at 58/4. RCB then faced another loss in the form of Suyash Prabhudessai's wicket in the 12th over after he fell to Ashwin's spell and departed with just two runs in his kitty.
Dinesh Karthik came to the crease and got run-out after scoring only 6 runs, with RCB's total at 72/6. Shahbaz was then joined by Wanindu Hasaranga but the duo also could not create any miracle for RCB as the former also ended up giving his wicket to Ashwin in the 16th over. It was followed by Hasanrang's dismissal in the 17th over by Kuldeep Sen, which left RCB's total at 102/8.
Prasidh Krishna then dismissed Mohammed Siraj in the 18th over. With a total of 30 runs left to win in the last over, it was Kuldeep Sen who put the last nail in the coffin and took Harshal Patel's wicket to provide Rajasthan with a victory by 29 runs.
Earlier, Riyan Parag's unbeaten 56-run knock off 31 balls guided Rajasthan Royals to a modest 144/8 in the first innings. For RCB, Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga and Mohammed Siraj bag two wickets.