Hello and welcome to Sportstar's live blog of this evening's Indian Premier League 2019 clash between between the Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
Rahul Tripathi brings up Royals' first victory of the season with a maximum over deep mid wicket. Steve Smith and Tripathi added 50 for the third wicket to nip RCB's hopes in the bud. The visitor was briefly brought back into the match by Chahal but the dropped catches came back to haunt Kohli's men. Rajasthan was buoyed by a breezy 43-ball 59 from Jos Buttler at the top and a spectacular spell of leg-spin bowling (three for 12) from Shreyas Gopal. Meanwhile, plenty to ponder for Virat Kohli and his men with RCB slipping to its fourth consecutive loss in IPL 12.
◘ And Yadav redeems himself, holds on to this catch of Steve Smith who fails to see his team through. He departs for 38 and it's now upto Ben Stokes and Tripathi to guide the Royals to victory.
◘ Smith wants to see his team home. He brinsg the equation down to 18 off 18 with a maximum over mid-wicket. The RCB bowlers keep serving short and wide deliveries and the Rajasthan batsmen keep feasting on them. It's Siraj who is at the receiving end as a wide ball is dispatched by Tripathi over extra cover for four.
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE UMESH! Chahal could have had his third there but for a dropped chance by Umesh Yadav at sweeper cover. Look wherever you want Umesh, but don't look towards your captain! He has put down a dolly. Chahal bowls out, two for 17. Rajasthan needs 34 runs in 24 balls
Time for Time-Out!
◘ Stoinis has been guilty of bowling harmless short deliveries in this innings; Tripathi rocks on the back foot and pulls it over mid-wicket for his first boundary. Rajasthan needs 38 runs in 30 balls with Smith and Tripathi in the middle, should be a walk in the park.
◘ Smith has been patchy but he is hanging on as RR continues to eat away at the deficit. Seven coming off Yadav's over. Rahul Tripathi is the new man in.
GONE! Buttler has to depart and it's turning out to be a night for the leggies. First Shreyas, now Chahal getting breakthroughs. A slow, floated ball outside off, spinning away from Buttler and the Englishman has miscued a hit straight to Stoinis at long-off. RR 111/2 after 14 overs.
◘ Buttler, on the other hand, is looking ominous. He brings up his half-century with a four off his fellow countryman Moeen Ali before pulling a rank short ball over mid-wicket for six. STREAKY! An inside edge off Smith's bat runs away to the fence as Stoinis continues to leak runs.
◘ Chahal to continue from the other end. Eight off his second, as Rajasthan brings the required run-rate under 8. Stoinis to bowl the ninth over. And Buttler has pulled one towards backward square leg for four. Steve Smith has walked out to the middle by the way. Stoinis, meanwhile, bowls a bouncer on the off-stump line and Buttler has executed a horizontal bat swat over mid-on for his seventh four. RR 80/1 after 10 overs. Rajasthan Royals requires another 79 runs with 9 wickets and 10 overs remaining
◘ First signs of Yuzvendra Chahal. Can he be as successful as Shreyas Gopal? YES HE DOES! Chahal traps Rahane in front and RCB has a necessary breakthrough. Just two runs off that over and a wicket. Siraj to continue. Gee! That was perilously close to the off-stump , Buttler would have had his heart in his mouth for a moment. Top stuff from Siraj who is in the middle of a great spell. Four off his second over. RCB 61/1 after 8 overs.
It's time for strategic time-out.
◘ Rahane showing his class against Saini with a wristy flick through mid-wicket for four, also brings up the team 50. He then frees his arms to a wide delivery and lofts it over extra-cover for four more. Mohammed Siraj has been introduced into the attack. An excellent over from Siraj who concedes just one of his first over. RCB 55/0 after 6 overs.
◘ Saini is greeted with a fierce cover drive from Buttler. Umesh Yadav to continue. And then ends up conceding four leg-byes a ball later. Buttler then scores a boundary in the third-man region. It's Rahane's turn to join the fun as he first helps an Umesh slower ball down the leg side towards fine leg for four and then backs it up with another boundary. RCB 45/0 after 4 overs.
◘ Navdeep Saini to share the new ball. Oh Dear! Kohli drops Rahane in the slips, a tough chance but a fielder of his calibre should have taken that. Instead, Rahane gets a single and Buttler rubs salt in the wound with two back-to-back boundaries. Buttler is off and running, an away going delivery from Yadav is punched off the backfoot through covers for the first boundary of RR's innings. RR 18/0 after 2 overs.
Rahane and Buttler all set to start the chase. Umesh Yadav steaming in with the new ball.
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Marcus Stoinis and Moeen Ali have pushed RCB past 150. The duo collected 17 off Jofra Archer's last over but the stand out performer was Parthiv Patel, whose 41-ball 67 revived RCB after leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal ran through Bangalore's top-order, dismissing Kohli, De Villiers and Hetmyer cheaply. The Royals need 159 to win.
◘ Stokes will bowl the penultimate over. The pacers have gone for plenty on this wicket despite Ian Bishop saying that the wicket will aid the seamers. Stoinis has smacked a slower ball towards long-on for a much needed boundary. Archer to bowl the final over, begins with a short ball and Moeen Ali has launched this over deep mid-wicket for six. Good comeback from Archer, gives away just two off the next two balls but he errs on his length again and a lusty hit from Moeen beats a diving Gowtham at long on before playing a ramp shot over fine leg for four. 17 off the final over! RCB 158/4 after 20 overs.
◘ WICKET! Jofra Archer has ended Patel's resistance, he is caught at long on by Ajinkya Rahane. He departs for 67 as RCB loses its fourth wicket. Some joy for Archer who is having an odd off day with the ball. Stokes returns for the 17th over. Stoinis has been rather quiet after that lone maximum. He needs to get going if RCB is to get anywhere close to 150-mark. Patel, meanwhile, continues to impress as he tonks Stokes towards wide long-on for his ninth boundary. RCB 132/4 after 18 overs.
Gowtham and Gopal have given away 31 runs in eight overs for three wickets.
◘ Shreyas Gopal finishes his quota with figures of three for 12. RCB has crossed the 100-run mark thanks largely to Parthiv Patel's fifty. Patel is stepping foot on the pedal, lofts a Kulkarni slower ball over extra cover for four. RCB 117/3 after 16 overs.
◘ Ben Stokes to roll his arm. And Parthiv Patel has hammered a short delivery over deep mid-wicket for six and he follows it up with a fierce back cut for four, Stokes erring on line and length here. 12 off the Englishman's first over. Archer back into the attack. Patel gets to his fifty but not without some drama, is denied a single and just about makes it back but a ricochet off a direct hit allows him to hare across to the other end. RCB has also crossed the 100-run mark with a Stoinis maximum! RCB 103/3 after 14 overs.
◘ Shreyas Gopal, you beauty. Wicket No. 3 for the leggie and he has single-handedly run through RCB's top-order. It's Shimron Hetmyer who is out caught behind as RCB loses its third. Bangalore staring at yet another batting collapse? Debutant Marcus Stoinis is in the middle. Stuart Binny has been introduced into the attack, goes for only six. RCB 80/3 after 12 overs.
◘ WHAT A NIGHT Shreyas Gopal is having. After Kohli, the leg-spinner snaps up De Villiers; another wrong 'un from Gopal and he completes a rather sharp caught and bowled chance. Gowtham bowling the 10th over, two Karnataka team-mates operating in tandem. Tidy stuff from Gowtham, gives away just two. Only two coming off the last two overs! RCB 73/2 after 10 overs.
◘ Leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal into the attack. WHOA! Shreyas Gopal has bowled Virat Kohli through the gate! And the Karnataka spinner can't believe it. Kohli misread the googly and he pays the price by losing his stumps. RCB 49/1 after 6.3 overs. De Villiers is the new man in and he plays a cheeky shot straightaway, a premeditated lap sweep sees the ball race away to the fence. Varun Aaron to bowl the eight over, and he concedes two fours to Patel and a couple to De Villiers too. 16 off that over. RCB 71/0 after 8 overs.
◘ Jofra Archer has been inroduced into the attack. Kohli vs Archer should be a mouthwatering clash! But at the moment, it is Patel who's switching gears, helps a short and wide delivery towards the third-man boundary before hitting one to fine leg for four. The dimunitive keeper-batsman then dismisses a length ball over long-off as RCB collects 14 off Archer's first over. Gowtham is back for his third. The Karnataka offie wraps up the Powerplay on a quiet note. RCB 48/0 after 6 overs.
◘ Rest assured, Parthiv Patel will have to stay alert to his skipper's call. Kohli is lightening quick between the wickets and will expect the same of his partner; just three of Gowtham's second over. However, Kulkarni is dispatched for a four off the first ball of his second over; Kohli flicking it through mid-wicket. The ball was in the air briefly but the timing on it was exquisite. Parthiv ruins Kulkarni's numbers by whipping a slower ball towards fine leg for four. RCB 29/0 after 4 overs
◘ Gowtham drops this one short on Kohli's pads and the RCB skipper hits this one behind square on the on side for the first boundary of the match. Dhawal Kulkarni will bowl from the other end. He elicits a thick outside edge from Kohli that races away to the third-man fence for four. RCB 17/0 after 2 overs.
Parthiv Patel and Virat Kohli to open the innings for RCB, K Gowtham to start the proceedings.
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TOSS UPDATE: Rahane has won the toss and Rajasthan will bowl first.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Parthiv Patel(w), Moeen Ali, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Akshdeep Nath, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane(c), Jos Buttler(w), Rahul Tripathi, Steven Smith, Ben Stokes, Stuart Binny, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Dhawal Kulkarni, Varun Aaron
Rahane: " We have had three close games, should have closed it. But this is another opportunity and we are looking forward to it. Sanju Samson is injured and he misses out, Stuart Binny is in. Varun Aaron replaces Jaydev Unadkat."
Kohli : "It's never nice to start without a win, but we are excited about this game. It's a long tournament, if you get on a roll, you can win plenty. We have three changes, Akshdeep Nath replaces Shivam Dube, Navdeep Saini is in for Barman and Stoinis makes his RCB debut - de Grandhomme makes way."
PITCH REPORT| "The Sawai Mansingh stadium spins less than any other surfaces, there are some dry areas interspersed with grass. It will allow the ball to slide on nicely, there should be some pace and bounce - this pitch will aid the pacers," Ian Bishop on the wicket.
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◘ Rajasthan is No. 7 on the points table, Bangalore is No. 8. Here's how the teams stack up: Points Table
Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore have both lost all their three games in the 2019 Indian Premier League season.
Here is P.K. Ajith Kumar's preview of tonight's encounter.
PREVIEW
If the Rajasthan Royals men are feeling let down by fortune, they cannot be blamed.
In their last match, M.S. Dhoni hadn’t opened his account, and Chennai Super Kings was wobbling at 28 for three in Chennai, when he played Jofra Archer on to his stumps. But the bails refused to come off and the Super Kings captain went on to make an unbeaten 75 and led his team to a third-straight win.
For Ajinkya Rahane’s men, it was their third straight defeat. Theirs isn’t the only team that is in a similar plight, though.
READ| Follow our IPL coverage here
Their opponent for Tuesday’s match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Royal Challengers Bangalore, also doesn't have an idea how a victory feels like this IPL season. Unlike Rajasthan, Virat Kohli’s men know pretty well how it is getting deflated by the opposition: they lost by seven wickets to Super Kings and by 118 runs to Sunrisers Hyderabad.
To be fair, they were also at the receiving end of the no-ball controversy in the match against Mumbai Indians, which they lost by just six runs. The Royals, of course, were at the wrong end of a controversy of their own – R. Ashwin’s Mankading of Jos Buttler.
The memory of that incident could well be on their minds when they return to their home ground. They will have to put that behind them, as they play the first of their three back-to-back games here. The Royals would also want to ensure that they don’t fritter away the opportunities as they have done in the previous games.
Buttler, Rahane, Sanju Samson and Steve Smith have all looked good enough to inspire confidence in batting. But when it comes to bowling, their standout performer Archer needs better support from fellow seamers like Jaydev Unadkat.
RCB misfiring on all fronts
It has been an even more disappointing bowling effort from RCB. Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and co. have to do a lot better than they did against David Warner and Jonny Bairstow on Sunday.
Not that the RCB batsmen have exactly crowned themselves in glory. But a line-up that features Kohli, AB de Villiers, Shimron Hetmyer and Moeen Ali could erupt any time.
There is indeed much to look forward to. Neither team will want to be the team still looking for its first win after four matches.
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