Rajasthan Royals extended their unbeaten run in the Indian Premier League 2024 to four with a six-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Saturday.
After Virat Kohli’s century led RCB to 183/3 in their allotted 20 overs, Jos Buttler (100* off 58) scored a century in his 100th IPL match to help the Royals chase down the total with five balls to spare. Sanju Samson (69 off 42) also pitched in with a brilliant half-century.
Dubbed the #PinkPromise match, Saturday’s RR vs RCB contest also marked a special occasion. The match was played with the core objective of amplifying and supporting women-led transformation in Rajasthan and underlined the Royals’ pledge to continue to enable the empowered women of Rajasthan and of India through their social equity arm - the Royal Rajasthan Foundation (RRF).
The cause received overwhelming support from the enthusiastic capacity crowd in attendance at Jaipur as well as both sets of players, with the match played in the highest of spirits.
During the match, the Royals donned a special all-pink jersey featuring the names of the Royal Rajasthan Foundation’s women beneficiaries from Sambhar, who are leading positive transformation in their communities.
The match also saw a total of 13 sixes being hit, actualizing the foundation’s promise to power six homes with solar power for every maximum hit during the match by players of either team.
Opting to bowl first, Royals skipper Sanju Samson tried out four bowlers in the powerplay but could not break through as the RCB raced to 53 in the first six overs. This was the first time that the Royals went wicketless in the powerplay in IPL 2024.
Faf du Plessis and Kohli put together 125 runs off 84 balls for the first wicket before Chahal struck for the Royals, dismissing du Plessis for 44.
But Kohli went on to score his eighth century of the IPL, finishing with an unbeaten 113 off 72 balls. Kohli hit 12 fours and four sixes to notch up the highest individual score in the IPL at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, and led his team to a total of 183/3.
While RCB threatened to run away with the game at one point, the Royals bowlers pulled things back brilliantly in the final few overs to restrict the visitors.
Chahal finished with 2/34 off his four overs. Nandre Burger picked up a wicket whereas Ravichandran Ashwin was the most economical bowler conceding only 28 runs in his quota of four overs.
In reply, the Royals lost Yashasvi Jaiswal in the second ball of the innings but Samson joined Buttler to take the Royals to 54/1 at the end of six overs to put the chase on track.
Buttler hit nine boundaries and four sixes in his knock to make his 100th IPL match memorable and marked his return to form. The English batter raced to his fifty in 30 balls before adding 148 runs from 86 balls for the second wicket with Samson to take the game away from RCB.
Samson scored 69 off 42 balls to rake up his second half-century of the season. The Royals captain looked in exquisite touch during his time in the middle and hit eight fours and two maximums. An inside out six off Mayank Dagar was the pick of the lot.
Though the Royals lost three quick wickets towards the end of their chase, Buttler and Shimron Hetmyer ensured that the Royals completed the chase without any mishaps. Buttler brought about the winning runs and his century with a maximum.
The win helped the Royals return to the top of the IPL 2024 points table with eight points from four outings. RCB, meanwhile, are eighth with two points from five matches.
Rajasthan Royals will be up against Gujarat Titans in their next game at home on April 10.
RR vs RCB IPL 2024 brief scores: Royal Challengers Bengaluru 183/3 (Virat Kohli 113, Faf du Plessis 44, Yuzvendra Chahal 2/34, Nandre Burger 1/33) lost to Rajasthan Royals 189/4 (Jos Buttler 100, Sanju Samson 69, Reece Topley 2/27) by six wickets. Get full RR vs RCB full scorecard here.
