From Dinesh Karthik to Harshal Patel: Top three performers for RCB vs RR

A game that would stay etched onto the memories of the Royal Challengers Bangalore forever, it was a quintessential cricketing watershed that saw RCB besting RR in another sternum-churning thriller.

The needle on the balance scale kept on tipping vehemently from one end to the other as the Challengers and the Royals were involved in a gutter war that would witness hefty haymakers being traded without any hesitation whatsoever.

The first big moment of the game was when David Willey produced an absolute stunner that would cannon through the defences of Jaiswal and kiss the bails in its flight path. Even though there was a sniff of a turnaround with Butler and Padikkal trying to cook up something important, Harshal Patel was right around the corner to drop the hammer that would leave the Royals scrambled. It was Hasaranga who would claim their skipper for cheap with one of the softest dismissals that one can witness.

Faf and Anuj Rawat gave them the much-needed start to the Challengers but it would not be long as the Challengers would find themselves in the midst of a boiling ocean as Chahal and Saini struck in quick succession to almost write off RCB from the game. However, in a totally unexpected show of dominion, Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaz Ahmed would just lay waste to the Royals as boundaries reigned supreme.

From classic aerial strikes to neatly-stitched ground efforts, the Challengers swarmed over the Royals in a superior display of domination. Let us quickly take a look at the three best performances of the night for RCB.

1. Dinesh Karthik – 44*(23)

Had it not been for the finishing genius, RCB could very well have been staring at a dead void. From 87 for 5, Karthik dared to take the fight to the Royals as he smoked around the bowlers in an imperial illustration of batting magnificence. He was just a joy to the sore eyes as he would often bring out astronomical strikes and play lofted shots blended in perfect combination with the ground strikes.

2. Shahbaz Ahmed – 45 (26)

An extremely underrated talent in the cricketing echelons, Shahbaz Ahmed was once again elemental in shaping up the fortunes of the game. The youngster came out in flying colours under tremendous pressure, carving a knock of the lifetime against experienced campaigners. Showing a stellar blend of control and aggression, Shahbaz managed to fend off the Royals with an imperious display of batting domination.

3. Harshal Patel – 18/1 (4)

If Shahbaz and DK were the beacons of hope with the bat, it was another frugal display from Harshal Patel that imposed the chains on RR. His miserly bowling would simply not let the Royals off the hook and he also bagged the all-important scalp of Devdutt Padikkal who was just getting warmed up for an upcoming carnage. Harshal finished his quota with just 18 runs conceded from 4 overs.