IPL 2024, RR vs RCB: Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson shoulder successful chase for RR; Virat Kohli's ton goes in vain. Top takeaways for Rajasthan Royals and RCB from the match.
Brief Scores: RR 189/4 (Buttler 100*, Samson 69, Topley 2/27) beat RCB 183/3 (Kohli 113*, Chahal 2/34) by 6-wkts.
Player of the Match: Jos Buttler (100* in 58 balls).
Invited to bat first, Virat Kohli carried his bat for his eighth century in the Indian Premier League (IPL), unbeaten 113 runs in 72 balls. At the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) finished on 183/3. For Rajasthan Royals, the 148-run second wicket stand between Jos Buttler (100*) and Sanju Samson put a great platform. The hosts moved to the top position with a six-wicket victory.
Key Takeaways from RR vs RCB, Match 19, IPL 2024- Winning Team (RR)
Buttler gets back in form with 100* to relieve the Royals
One of the biggest worries for Rajasthan of late was the struggle of Jos Buttler. He just had 392 runs in the last IPL at a strike rate of 139.01. Even in the first three games of the new season, the England batter had scores of 11, 11 and 13.
But he took his time at the start of the chase. At one point, he was on 10 off 10 balls. The moment he cleared his front leg to smack Mayank Dagar down the ground for a six, his old beast got its life back. In just 30 balls, Buttler reached his 20th IPL fifty. And, in next 20 balls he smashed his 6th IPL hundred in his 100th match. His form would give relief to the Royals' management.
Samson made his case for T20 World Cup?
With Buttler, Sanju Samson put on a huge 148-run stand for the second wicket. In four games this season, he has smashed 178 runs in at a strike rate of close to 150. With India’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad selection getting nearer by the day, the wicketkeeper made a case strong for himself.
Rajasthan earned their four successive win. The best part about these victories is their four different match-winners at various stages.
Key Takeaways from RR vs RCB, Match 19, IPL 2024- Losing Team (RCB)
Kohli needs support from struggling Maxwell and Green
One of the biggest issues for RCB’s struggle in the season has been the lack of runs from their batters, except Virat Kohli. The former captain didn’t get any support and carried the whole on his shoulders. Every time he wanted to put his feet on the accelerator, a wicket pushed him two or three steps back. Leaving Kohli’s 113, the other batters gathered just 59 runs in 48 balls.
Faf du Plessis has struggled so far in this tournament. He scored 44 runs in this game. But it came at a strike rate of just 133.33, after batting in the entire powerplay. Glenn Maxwell collected just 31 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 114.81. Cameron Green traded from the Mumbai Indians, could manage only 63 runs at a 110.53 strike rate. That’s the reason why Bengaluru has struggled in the middle overs. They need to step up going into the tournament.
Poor bowling let RCB down again
Even in that 184-run defence, RCB began their bowling with decent tactics. But Dagar gave away 20 runs in the last over of the powerplay to release the pressure. Rajasthan earned a vital momentum. Since then, both Buttler and Samson smashed the bowlers around the park.
The ‘Red Army’ also missed a trick by not giving Maxwell any chance to roll his arms. An over or two from the golden arm could have changed their fate. But the same story continued as Bengaluru’s poor planning in the bowling department let them down yet again.
Their spinners also couldn’t control the game like RR’s did. The spinners of the home side had combined figures of 2/72 in nine overs, while RCB had 0/63 in four overs. This damaged their middle over bowling, as RR put on a huge stand.
Statistical highlights for RR vs RCB, Jaipur
In IPL 2024, Kohli has the most powerplay runs (121) at a strike rate of 140.70.
Chahal has dismissed Faf du Plessis three times in T20s at a strike rate of 88.
Since Jan 2023, Kohli has managed 955 IPL runs with three centuries.
Points Table scenario and what’s next
With eight points in four games, RR moves up to the top position at a net run rate (NRR) of +1.120. RCB stayed at the eighth rank with a damaged NRR of -0.843.
Mumbai Indians (MI) will aim to open their account against the struggling Delhi Capitals (DC). The former will host DC on April 07 at the Wankhede Stadium in an afternoon encounter.
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