IPL 6: Watson's hot form keeps Rajasthan citadel intact

Rajasthan Royals 173 for 6 (Samson 63, Watson 41) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 171 for 6 (Gayle 34, Watson 3-22) by 4 wickets

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A high impact all round performance from Shane Watson, his second on the trot, gave Rajasthan a comprehensive victory against formidable Royal Challengers Bangalore. Shane Watson’s timely wickets and composed innings helped Rajasthan to achieve the target with two balls to spare. With the win, Rajasthan have an outside chance of making it to the top four.

Royal Challengers let partnerships blossom as Rajasthan had two good partnerships that ultimately helped them to chase this target. RP Singh and Vinay Kumar bowled too many loose deliveries with the new-ball, which Dravid and Sampson cashed in on. But Royal Challengers had a chance in the later part of the innings with the wickets of Watson and Hodge, but could not exploit it as Stuart Binny steered Rajasthan home.

After winning the toss on a hot sunny day, Rajasthan leaked too many runs with the new-ball. Gayle looked in ominous form, but he was removed by Shane Watson in the 4th over. Siddarth Trivedi knocked Mukund in the 8th over to have Royal Challengers on the ropes at 66/2. The loss of two wickets in quick succession forced Kohli and AB de Villers to rotate the strike.

AB de Villers looked a major threat to Rajasthan, but was dismissed by Sreesanth in the 13th over, which brought Rajasthan back into the contest. Virat Kohli and Tiwary were not able to clear the fence as Rajasthan fielders were right on the money.

Shane Watson bowled superbly and kept the Royal Challengers innings under check. He bowled tight lines and did not provide enough room to the batsmen. His wicket of Gayle proved decisive as Royal Challengers Bangalore could not progress the innings following the wicket of Gayle. But James Faulkner’s bad last over that cost 22 runs that included with three massive sixes helped Royal Challengers post a competitive score on a dry surface at Jaipur.

Chasing 172, Sampson waylaid Royal Challengers. Coming in ahead of Watson, he played a spectacular innings of 63. He and Dravid steadied the innings following the wicket of Rahane in the second over. Sampson added 68 runs with Watson for the third wicket that helped Rajasthan inch closer towards Royal Challengers score of 171. Sampson thoroughly dominated the run-chase by dispatching all the loose deliveries to the fence. But some hope came for Royal Challengers with the wicket of Watson and Hodge in the 18th and 19th over respectively. However, Stuart Binny stayed calm and scored the winning runs for the Rajasthan Royals.