Jaipur: The Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals exhibited a sloppy batting performance on Sunday afternoon to sustain a pathetic defeat of 112 runs against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) here.
RCB decided to bat first after winning the toss, but the total 171 they posed was comparatively low. However, Rajasthan experienced a pathetic collapse during the chase, and they were all out in 59 and that too in 10.3 overs. This was their second-lowest total after the 58 in 2009.
For Rajasthan, only Shimron Hetmyer (35 off 19 balls) and Joe Root (10 off 15 balls) reached double digits. Yashaswi Jaiswal, who scored 98 not out in their last game, got duck giving catch, just like co-opener Jos Butler.
PTI reports RR batters didn’t care to be patient and adapt to the slow and tricky wicket by playing shots to get out, giving catches all around the field. None of the batters seemed to have an intention to anchor their team to the pitch.
Wayne Parnell, among RCB bowlers, reaped the best by felling three wickets for ten runs in three overs. When Micheal Bracewell and Karn Sharma took two wickets each, Mohammed Siraj and Glenn Maxwell got one each.
Earlier, Virat Kohli gave a catch and left, scoring 18 runs in the first innings. That is when Maxwell arrived and joined Faf Duplesis. Once Duplesis crossed 50 (55 off 44), he left, giving a catch to Jaiswal just like Kohli. Mahipal Lomror tried an unnecessary air shot off Adam Zampa to give a catch and leave, scoring a run, and Dinesh Karthik left for a duck sustaining an LBW.
At this stage, Maxwell was restless to play his signature reverse smash, which he attempted on Sandeep Sharma, who castled him. It was Anuj Rawat and Micheal Bracewell who pushed the total to 171.
With the win, RCB jumped to the fifth spot with 12 points from 12 matches to be in contention for a playoff berth, while RR moved down to sixth with 12 points from 13 matches.