Fifties from Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal lifted Royal Challengers Bangalore to a hefty 205/5 against Rajasthan Royals in their IPL clash at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Thursday.
Kohli top-scored with 70 in 42 balls while Padikkal smashed 50 in 27 balls.
Phil Salt and Kohli got Royal Challengers Bangalore off to a breezy start, adding 61 in 6.4 overs before Wanindu Hasaranga struck, having the Englishman caught at deep midwicket by Shimron Hetmyer for 26.
Kohli and Padikkal then added 95 for the second wicket. Kohli fell to Jofra Archer after making his fifth half century of the season.
Padikkal followed him back to the dugout in the next over by Sandeep Sharma. Skipper Rajat Patidar fell cheaply in the same over for 1 to leave RCB at 163/4.
But Tim David and Jitesh Sharma then put on 42 in just 19 balls to take RCB to a daunting total.
Earlier, RR won the toss and chose to bowl against RCB.
“Felt the wicket is a little sticky and will get better later on. We need to be 100 per cent in all our games. Results will come automatically. Farooqi replaces Theekshana,” RR skipper Riyan Parag said after the toss.
“Surface has been tricky and unpredictable through the season. Big three games coming up here. We need to have better shot selection especially with the pitch being two-paced. Same team,” said RCB captain Rajat Patidar.
Riyan Parag is leading the side after Sanju Samson was ruled out of the match due to injury.
RCB currently sit third on the points table with five wins and three losses. While they have struggled at home, they have been dominant in away fixtures, winning five consecutive games on the road.
RR, on the other hand, have had a difficult season so far. They are placed eighth, with just two wins in eight matches.
Playing XI
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar(C), Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma(WK), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubham Dubey, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag(C), Dhruv Jurel(WK), Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma
Impact players:
RCB: Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh
RR: Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya, Kunal Singh Rathore