RCB thrash Rajasthan by 10 wickets to make it 4 in 4; regain top spot on the points table

Change in venue, different conditions, up against a team that had been camped for 3 games at the Wankhede. It made absolutely no difference. RCB romped home with a near-perfect performance, as they returned rightfully to the top of the points table with a 4th win in as many games in IPL 2021.

Jeez, this kid Devdutt Padikkal is something special, isn’t he? Coming into the IPL on the back of a fabulous Vijay Hazare tournament, one in which he scored 4 centuries, Padikkal brought the same ability to convert starts into big scores. His first 50 of the season turned into a century, as RCB chased down 178 with ease.

While Captain Kohli was not able to hit everything off the middle, Devdutt ensured that the runs kept flowing. Chasing 178 could have gotten tricky and kept the Royals interested if a couple of wickets fell at the top. But, the mentor-mentee duo ensured there were no hiccups at all. The only suspense of the run-chase appeared when Captain Kohli having reached his 50 suddenly started middling the ball, and threatened to chase down the runs before Devdutt could get to his 100. But, there were just enough runs left for the Karnataka opener to race to his first IPL century, off just 51 balls.

Earlier in the evening, on the back of some disciplined bowling in the powerplay, RCB put Rajasthan straight away on the backfoot with 3 wickets inside the powerplay. Mohammed Siraj was the wrecker-in-chief, dislodging two key linchpins of the RR batting lineup. Jos Buttler tried to make room but missed one that crashed into the stumps, while David Miller was caught off-guard by a fast, inswinging yorker that trapped him right in front. When Sanju Samson departed soon after the powerplay off Washington Sundar’s bowling, RR appeared to be struggling to stay in the game.

However, a rescue act lead by Shivam Dubde and further carried forward by Riyan Parag and Rahul Tewatia ensured the Royals posted a competitive total. On the night it proved too little as RCB romped home with 21 balls left. Having conquered the Chennai leg unblemished, the men in Red and Gold have completed half of the Mumbai challenge in spectacular fashion to regain their rightful spot at the top of the table.