Chasing 150, the Challengers started well with captain Virat Kohli (25) and young star Devdutt Padikkal (22), adding 48 runs for the opening wicket. But soon, both Padikkal and Kohli lost their wickets as RCB were reduced to 58/2.
Then, Srikar Bharatand Glenn Maxwell steadied the ship and never allowed the Royals to come back in the game. The pair went on to form a crucial 69-runs partnership for the third wicket to put RCB close to the winning position.
Although Bharat missed out from scoring a half-century by six runs, Maxwell (50 not out) managed to reach his fifty and RCB finished the game in the 18th over with seven wickets in hand.
Earlier, Evin Lewis and Yashasvi Jaiswal gave RR a flying start. The duo put together 77 runs for the opening wicket in just 8.2 overs before Daniel Christian sent back Yashasvi for 31. But, Lewis kept the momentum and reached his half-century. As the left-handed batter was looking set to go far, debutant George Garton removed him to provide another breakthrough.
Lewis’ dismissal opened the flood gates as the Royals kept losing wickets at regular intervals only to reach 149/9 after 20 overs.
For the Challengers, Harshal Patel picked three wickets for 34 runs in his quota of 4 overs. Similarly, Yuzvendra Chahal (2/18) and Shahbaz Ahmed (2/10) bagged a couple of scalps each.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
Another commanding win! One foot in the playoffs, but the next 3 matches are extremely crucial. Firstly to seal the playoffs spot officially and then hope to finish in the top 2. Love the energy and the challenger spirit our boys are showing.?? #IPL2021 #RRvRCB
— Ajith Ramamurthy (@Ajith_tweets) September 29, 2021
The smiles just don't stop when you're winning, do they?#PlayBold #IPL2021 #VIVOIPL #RRvRCB #RCB pic.twitter.com/piUj4tRcxO
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) September 29, 2021
And we march on! ??
Drop a
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) September 29, 2021
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