Jaipur: Opener Jos Buttler (59, 43b, 8×4, 1×6) continued his good form in the tournament aided by Steve Smith (36) as Rajasthan Royals (RR) notched up their first win of the tournament beating Royals Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by seven wickets here Tuesday.
After an early dismissal of skipper Ajinkya Rahane (22), Englishman Buttler along with Smith added 44 runs for the second wicket, before the former Aussie skipper put on 50 runs for the third wicket with Rahul Tripathy (34 n o) to take his team towards victory.
Earlier, RR leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal (3/12) bowled a sensational spell to dismiss key top-order batsmen before Parthiv Patel (67, 41b, 9×4, 1×6) and Marcus Stoinis propelled (31 n o) RCB to 158/.
Gopal’s scalps include the prized wickets of Virat Kohli (23) and AB de Villiers (13). However, it was opener Parthiv who resisted the RR attack with aplomb to help his side put a decent total on board. Stoinis too played a key part in shoring up team’s total, adding 32 quick runs in partnership with Moeen Ali (18).
Playing with a cautious approach, Kohli was happy working the ball around. Parthiv was aggressor of the two. Parhtiv hit three boundaries in Jofra Archer’s (1/47) first over as RCB finished the powerplay overs, 48 runs on the board.
Immediately after that, Gopal was introduced into the attack and he began to trouble the Indian captain with his googlies. Gopal deceived Kohli with one, which went through the gates.
Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 158/4 (Parthiv Patel 67, Marcus Stoinis 31 n o; Shreyas Gopal 3/12) lost to Rajasthan Royals 164/3 (Jos Buttler 59, Steve Smith 36) by seven wickets.