Ton-up Padikkal, Kohli make it a walk in the park for RCB
Kolkata: Devdutt Padikkal kept his date with his first century in the IPL in only his second season as he and skipper Virat Kohli combined to help Royal Challengers Bangalore to an emphatic 10-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals this evening. This was RCB's fourth straight win in what's been their best-ever start - and in their first outing at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.
Padikkal, who was RCB's highest run-getter last season with 473 runs, scored a breathtaking 101 off 52 deliveries (11 fours & six sixes) while his skipper was content to play the second fiddle with a classy 72 off only 47 balls. Their unbroken partnership of 181 was the highest even opening stand in the franchise's history.
Rajasthan Royals had earlier recovered from a massive top order collapse to reach a competitive total of 177 for nine - though it did not look good enough on a nice batting surface.
Sent into bat, Royals were rocked by some lively pace of Mohammed Siraj and smart bowling of Kyle Jamieson as they lost Jos Buttler, Manan Vohra, skipper Sanju Samson and David Miller to be reduced to 43 for four at one stage. A spunky 66-run stand for the fifth wicket by Shivam Dube (46) and Riyan Parag (25) staged semblance of a recovery and took them past the 100-mark.
Relive the match as it happened ...
Half time report: Dube, Tewatia help Royals recover to a fighting total
Kolkata: Rajasthan Royals recovered from a massive top order collapse to reach a competitive total of 177 for nine against Royal Challengers Bangalore - though it may not just be enough on a good batting surface at the Wankhede Stadium.
Sent into bat, Royals were rocked by some lively pace of Mohammed Siraj and smart bowling of Kyle Jamieson as they lost Jos Buttler, Manan Vohra, skipper Sanju Samson and David Miller to be reduced to 43 for four at one stage. A spunky 66-run stand for the fifth wicket by Shivam Dube (46) and Riyan Parag (25) staged semblance of a recovery and took them past the 100-mark.
Rahul Tewatia (40 off 23 balls) gave the innings a late charge to finish at a 170-plus total. RCB, high on confidence, have the resources to overhaul it in these conditions - unless Royals bowlers come out with an extraordinary effort.
RCB look to maintain momentum against Royals
Kolkata: Royals Challengers Bangalore, who are in second position of the IPL table with three wins out of three, will look to keep up the momentum against Rajasthan Royals in a potential batting fest in Mumbai today.
Royals, who handed Delhi Capitals their lone defeat so far, have blown hot and cold and have still not been able to get their batting act together. The worrying part for them is Jos Buttler, their most accomplished batsman, had been short on runs while skipper Sanju Samson is yet to replicate his first match form when he scored a breathtaking century in a losing cause.
The Wankhede wicket in Mumbai had been a delight for stroke players as well as the seam bowlers, but the toss will again play a crucial role. The chasing side finds the batting easier and as Chennai Super Kings realized on Wednesday that even a 200-plus total cannot always be deemed safe there.
The other big question is: can RCB skipper Virat Kohli convert one of his starts into a big one? We will know the answer in a few hours.
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