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That will be all from this game - the 15th edition of the IPL continues to throw up many a thrilling contest and we expect something similar tomorrow when Kolkata Knight Riders lock horns with Mumbai Indians at the MCA Stadium in Pune. Do join us for our coverage of the same here on Sportskeeda, while keeping yourselves up to date with all the other cricketing news and action from around the world on this very platform. Oh, do switch tabs and follow the ongoing T20 between Pakistan and Australia that is in its final stages right here. Thank you so much for tuning in and do return tomorrow as well - for now though, on behalf of my partner-in-crime Pratyush Rohra, this is Sooryanarayanan Sesha once again reminding you to mask up and get vaccinated in case you haven't already. Good night and take care!
That was quite an insightful interview post game! Dinesh Karthik, the efforts that go unseen behind the scenes but all of its rewards which have come to the fore on the park - he's been a golden signing for RCB, more so, when you consider that a certain AB de Villiers used to don this role in seasons gone by. RCB are looking good alright, and with Glenn Maxwell set to play the next game and Josh Hazlewood set to join soon enough himself, things are looking onwards and upwards for Faf du Plessis and Co., who next face off against Mumbai Indians in Pune on Saturday (April 9). Nothing to panic about for the Rajasthan Royals who continue to boast of a solid net run-rate as well, although that topic is moot this early in the tournament. They will rue the missed opportunities though and look to rectify those ahead of their next clash against Lucknow Super Giants at this very venue on Sunday (April 10).
Dinesh Karthik is the Player of the Match for his breathtaking unbeaten 44 off 23 deliveries.
Karthik: I made a conscious effort this year to do justice to myself because I felt last year I could have done better. The way I trained was better - hats off to the person I trained with. He put me through some things which was very important for me in life as well. I was making a conscious effort to tell myself that I'm not done yet, I have a goal and I want to achieve something and I tried my best. I've done my preparation. When I went in we needed 12 runs an over almost - you have to figure out what to do. That's the thing I keep practicing - to try and make sure that when I go in, I stay calm, know my game and know who to take on. I've made a conscious effort to play a lot of white ball cricket, I don't play four-day cricket anymore so the quantity of matches have reduced. I have to play that many more matches as practice matches, scenarios...so I have to do a lot of that. A lot of people have been with me in this journey. Those are the hours you put in when nobody's seeing and those are the most important hours. When it comes off here it's great. The setup is beautiful, they're helping me a lot but the real work is done in the lead-up to the tournament which is what I will give a lot of credit to. T20 cricket by itself...you need to premeditate. But if it's not there where you want to hit it, you need to have the ability to change the shot. That's the key. I'm very happy with this current costume - red and black is very, very good (grins when asked about his different costumes, referring to his commentary stint).
Faf du Plessis (Royal Challengers Bangalore Captain): That's one out of the hat isn't it? You need some really good characters and DK is as brilliant a character as you can get. His composure is unbelievable really. His value to the team is immense because of that calmness towards the end. I think we bowled really well up until the 18th over and Jos got some good shots in to put the bowlers under pressure. They got a score just a bit above par because we knew the ball was spinning. Yuzi came in and bowled really well - he used all his tricks beautifully. But once again the highlight of tonight was that we've got a lot of belief to win. (On Shahbaz Ahmed) He's unbelievable - people think he's a skinny guy and can't hit a long ball but he can hit it big. The guys have been backing him for a long time. Even with his left-arm spin...Today we felt with the ball being wet and the leftie batting it wasn't the ideal matchup. I want to run the fastest, the furthest and the fittest and that's important for DK as well and wants to do it. Virat's still the fittest and the fastest - I'll say that to please the fans (grins).
Harshal Patel: Felt very good (scoring the winning runs). Like I've always said, winning the game for the team and getting over the line is the reason I play the game. This was one of those occasions where I could do that and it's immensely gratifying. I had my plans when we came into the game. Wanted to bowl a hard length and not bowl many slower balls because this is usually a very good batting surface but it turned out to be completely different than it. So, it's all about assessing the conditions and adapting to that. (When he decides what delivery to bowl) Halfway through the mark is too late. At the top fo the mark, I'm pretty sure what I want to bowl, what field I want and where I want the batter to hit me. So, if he moves, I have certain things I can adapt to. There are certain things you can or cannot do when a batter moves late. The way you set yourself up at the crease matters. If I'm setting up for the straight yorker, it's tough to suddenly execute the wide yorker. There are certain things I can do and certain things I can't do.
Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals captain): I can't point out a moment where we lost the game. It's a great effort to put in that kind of a total. Losing the toss, very slow wicket and the bowlers were up throughout the innings. A really great finish from Jos and Hetmyer. It was a respectable total on the board and restricting them till the last over with the dew in the Wankhede Stadium was a brilliant effort. (On thinking about a change of ball) No. I'm really confident with my bowlers without changing the ball. We did a great job for most parts. (On DK) He is someone with great experience but as a bowling unit, we would like to take our time and set our field. Not much confusion inside the ground, I can say that. A lot of positives to take out of this loss. Definitely, we can learn a lot of things too.
Rajasthan Royals 169/3 in 20 overs (Jos Buttler 70* off 47, Harshal Patel 1/18 off 4 overs) lose to Royal Challengers Bangalore 173/6 in 19.1 overs (Shahbaz Ahmed 45 off 26, Yuzvendra Chahal 2/15 off 4 overs) by 4 wickets.
The pendulum swung between the two extremes again and seemed to settle towards pink for good. That was until Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaz Ahmed joined forces to launch a counter-attack that will hurt the Royals when they look back at this game. This was a game they shouldn't have let slip out of their grasp.
Of course, it all began courtesy a fluent Powerplay with Faf du Plessis and Anuj Rawat accumulating 48 in that phase. The RCB skipper was batting like a million dollars and it needed the ace leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal to break open the contest with the wicket of du Plessis, who mistimed one into the hands of long on.
And then began a collapse - Anuj Rawat nicked behind, Virat Kohli was run out owing to a brilliant bit of athleticism on the part of Sanju Samson and David Willey was undone by a ripper of a leg-break from Chahal. RCB were sinking into an abyss and with the might of the Royals' bowling attack to contend with, it wasn't going to get any easier.
That was when RR let it slip away though - a couple of bizarre bowling changes coupled with some ordinary bowling vaulted RCB back into it. Shahbaz Ahmed was the one to kickstart the revival and even as Sherfane Rutherford failed to put up too many, Dinesh Karthik took centerstage and took the mickey out of both the bowlers, as well as the Royals' field placements!
Nothing could possibly explain the rationale behind holding back Chahal, given that Karthik's wicket was just about the game in the bag for the Royals. By the time the leggie came back on though, RCB needed to go at just 8 to the over, meaning that Shahbaz and Karthik could sit on him before taking on the rest. And this exactly what they did, sealing the game without a fuss as the duo held their nerve admirably.
Of course, Shahbaz wasn't there to see the team home but the ovation he received from his team told a story - amidst the carnage from Dinesh Karthik, that was an innings to be remembered for a long time. A young batter showing nerves of steel under pressure - truly admirable from the Bengal all-rounder!
All of that only to come down to this - Jaiswal has been pumped over mid-wicket and that's quite a victory for RCB. Rajasthan Royals have been confined to their first defeat of the tournament as well with that. What a counter-attack we've witnessed and at the end of it all, Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Rajasthan Royals by 4 wickets with 5 deliveries to spare!
20.0
19.1 Yashasvi Jaiswal to Harshal Patel, SIX! HARSHAL PATEL WRAPS UP THINGS IN STYLE! It's a drag down from Jaiswal, allowing Harshal to show some of his big-hitting power as he rocks back to pummel this to send it sailing over the mid-wicket ropes. What a thriller we've witnessed tonight! Shahbaz and Karthik are the heroes for RCB in this one. Royal Challengers Bangalore win by 4 wickets.
Samson's throwing the cat among the pigeons here and has a slip in place as well.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, right-arm leg-break, comes into the attack to bowl the final over. He will bowl over the wicket.
Oh hello! Who do we have here? It's not Navdeep Saini bowling the final over...
Karthik lets out a grin there himself. How cool is he under pressure! He just knows he's going to get the job done and even du Plessis and Kohli share a laugh in the dressing room. Two points heading the Royal Challengers' way - RCB need 3 runs to win off the final over!
19
overs
167/6score
1
1
1
1w
4
4
0
runs
Dinesh Karthik*
44(23)
Harshal Patel
3(3)
Prasidh Krishna
0/40
18.6 Prasidh Krishna to Dinesh Karthik, BEATEN! On the good length in the channel outside off-stump as Karthik prods forward to defend it into the off-side. Plays inside the line that time, with the ball whistling past his outside edge. Surely RCB can't lose from here?
It's just gone pear-shaped for the Royals. They've been left dumbfounded and clueless. Just 3 to win now...
18.5 Prasidh Krishna to Dinesh Karthik, FOUR MORE! That's another 'hit-me' ball from an RR bowler. Off-cutter that's been dragged down angling down the leg side. Easy pickings for DK in this kind of mood to dispatch a pull to find the deep backward square leg ropes. DK on 44*. Can he finish it off in style and get to a half-century?
Just 7 to win off 8 deliveries...
He's needled that gap! Unbelievable from Karthik! He's toyed around with the field placements for fun today!