IPL: Rajasthan Royals v/s Royal Challengers Bangalore: Rajasthan romp to convincing 6-wicket win

Welcome to the league match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore

RCB to bat.

Gayle is still not playing.

Bangalore have lost 2 wickets in the first over.

RCB 1/2 after 1 over

The struggling Yuvraj Singh and Virat Kohli are on the crease.

RCB 5/2 after 2 overs

OUT! Yuvraj Singh's poor run of form continues as he is dismissed by Kane Richardson for 3 off 7 balls. He hung his bat out at that one and was caught at slip.

OUT! Now DeVilliers goes and Bangalore are in a huge mess. 

Bangalore 5/4

What has AB done? That was a lazy waft outside the off stump and AB had gone.

Sachin comes in...Sachin Rana that is.

Four. Virat Kohli pulls Richardson for four as if no mayhem occured that over.

Kohli steers to third man for one

RCB 11/4 after 3 overs. Kohli keeping strike is perhaps the safest thing for Bangalore.

Kohli defends three balls for no run

Punched to deep cover for one.

Sachin on strike...Rana

Rana defends two deliveries without trouble

Bangalore 12/4 after 4 overs

More cautious cricket from Bangalore, they are taking the singles but avoiding the big shots.

Bangalore 16/4 after 5 overs

OUT! More disaster for Bangalore as half their team has been blown away!

Just like AB, Sachin Rana tried to punch through cover and played on. Shane Watson strikes.

Bangalore 17/5

Albie Morkel comes in.

Four. What a shot. Slow, straight delivery gets driven beautifully down the ground for four. Some psychological relief for RCB.

RCB 22/5 after 6 overs

Kane Richardson is back

They continue taking singles off every other ball. 

Flicked away by Albie to fine leg, the fielder there fumbles and they come back for two.

RCB 26/5 after 7 overs

Oh. Kohli was cut in half by that one. He went for a cover drive but the ball swung back in sharply.

Now Morkel swings at a widish ball outside off stump and misses.

RCB 27/5 after 8 overs

Pravin Tambe comes in to bowl

Virat Kohli hits a full topspinner hard but can't connect well

Is it the pitch or is the Bangalore batting really off today?

Albie defends one down the pitch.

OUT! Now Albie goes for the big hit, gets a top edge and the fielder coming in from long on takes a good catch.

RCB 28/6

It's the strategic time out and Bangalore need to hit their heads against a wall.

The only strategy now is for Kohli to bat through the innings and accelerate towards the very end. It will be great if they reach 120 from here.

The batsmen crossed over and Virat drives the next ball for four.

Now he takes a single off the last ball. Perhaps he should take all the strike, the other batsmen seem totally inept today.

RCB 33/6 after 9 overs

Four. Aggressive shot from Kohli, chipped over mid on for four.

Another attacking shot, it was whipped to the midwicket region but Kohli can't get two.

Mitchell Starc is the next scapegoat batsman. He whips a ball through the on side for two.

Four. Now Starc chips the ball over mid on for four, this was done without risk.

A single off the last ball takes RCB to 45/6 at the halfway mark.

Praveen Tambe continues.

Starc gets a single to get Kohli on strike.

OUT. Kohli went for another attacking shot, the ball was slow and was caught at midwicket.

This is surely the beginning of the end for Bangalore.

RCB 46/7

Bangalore 47/7 after 11 overs. Ravi Rampaul is the new batsman.

Ravi Rampaul cannot score off the first three balls.

Now he gets a single to backward point for one.

Starc ends with 2,1 to make it four for the over.

Bangalore 51/7 after 12 overs

Oh. Tambe beats Starc's bat with a beautiful wrong one.

12.4 Starc sweeps and gets an underage to fine leg

Bangalore 55/7 after 13 overs

Rajat Bhatia to bowl his first over.

Beautiful shot! Starc scythes Bhatia through the off side, between backward point and short third man, into the tiny gap there for four.

Clubbed to mid on for one

OUT! Now Starc is gone, he hit a short delivery straight to point.

Bangalore 62/8 after 14 overs

SIX! Ravi Rampaul has clubbed a full toss from Tambe into the stands.

OUT! He tries to go big again and now holes out. This spun away from Rampaul, he tried to go over the off side, didn't hit the sweet spot and looped to long on.

OUT! And its all over! Ashok Dinda gets a ball that turns in sharply, he is trapped on the backfoot and given out LBW.

Bangalore are 70 all out.

This is an embarrassing performance by a powerful batting side. Rajasthan should not find the chase too difficult.

Rajasthan batting

The Rajasthan openers are out to bat.

Karun Nair to open with Ajinkya Rahane

Mitchell Starc to bowl

No run off the first ball, Rahane watches it go by.

Four. Down the leg side and Rahane gets bat on it to glide it away to the fine leg boundary.

Now he overcompensates, bowls too wide outside off and its called a wide.

Four. Another boundary. Nice half volley on off stump driven away for four.

Slightly wide of off stumps, Rahane cuts it away and the fielder at third man runs and cuts it off well. 

Rajasthan 11/0 after 1 over.

Ravi Rampaul is the new ball bowler with Starc.

Swing and a miss from Nair.

Now he tries to cut a short ball and nearly plays on like AB DeVilliers. That should be a forbidden shot on this wicket.

Single to short mid on.

Short ball, Rahane tucks it to backward point for one after jumping.

Appeal for a caught behind and the umpire is not interested.

Good over from Rampaul, just 2 from it.

RR 13/0 after 2 overs

Good shot! That wasn't very short or wide from Starc, it was clipped away through point for four by Rahane.

Four. Short delivery gets hooked through midwicket for four.

Starc gets a chance to bowl at Nair now.

But he blows it, ball on leg stump, Nair skied it past the close in fielders on the on side for two.

Rajasthan 24/0 after 3 overs

Oh. Rahane closes the face of the bat to a ball coming in. He gets the inside edge and it scoops just over the jumping point fielder for two runs.

Now Nair drives for a single

Now a short delivery from Rampaul and Rahane sways out of the way. Good ball, good batting.

Rajasthan 28/0 after 4 overs

Rampaul is bowling well but isn't getting wickets. Starc has been hammered. The target is just 71.

Astonishingly, Starc continues. 0/22 of 2 overs.

He gets driven through the on side for three this time, the fielder makes a sliding stop near the boundary.

OUT. Rahane is out. He edged to the keeper. They check for the no ball but its ok. A good short innings comes to an end.

RR 31/1

Sanju Samson comes in to bat

Rajasthan 32/1 after 5 overs

Ravi Rampaul continues

Clipped to third man for one despite the slips

Ouch. Is that a run out on the second run? The umpire has called for the third umpire.

And it is out. Rajasthan have lost two now. Is there life in this match?

Sanju Samson run out 2

RR 35/2

Rampaul into his third over and bowls short and wide outside....leg stump. Called wide.

Abhishek Nayar is in and now its Nayar and Nair at the crease.

Rajasthan 36/2 after 6 overs.

36/2 vs 22/5 in the powerplay....Rajasthan are still light years ahead despite the two wickets.

Mitchell Starc to continue.

Waft at a wide ball outside off, no run.

Now he's caught behind! Rajasthan are stumbling now. 36/3

Shane Watson walks in, this could go either way.

Clipped to short mid wicket and the crowd thought that was a catch.

Oh. Now another appeal for caught behind is rejected by the umpire. Watson stuck his bat out but could not manage to get out the ball missed it.

Four off the last ball, big release of pressure and it also averts the wicket maiden.

RR 40/3 after 7 overs

There was some banter between Watson and Kohli during the commercial break

Rampaul will also finish his quota of four overs here.

Beautiful test-match quality shot. Drives a good length ball through mid off for four.

Now a single down to third man

Single on to the on side

Rajasthan 46/3 after 8 overs

Just 25 more needed to win

Yuzvendra Chahal...Yuzi....to bowl now.

He concedes zero runs off the first four balls.

And its a maiden over.

Time for the time out.

Ashok Dinda comes in to bowl. This match could finish quickly.

Oh! He beats the bat twice off the shorter bouncer, fourth and fifth ball of the over

Rajasthan 48/3 after 10 overs

Four. Yuzi bowls a half volley and gets deposited for four straight down the ground.

Watson is back in form...or is he?

Now he pulls but finds short mid on

Slapped away to sweeper cover for one

RR 55/3 after 11 overs

Abhishek Nayar almost got run out while taking a third run.

Rajasthan 61/3 after 12 overs

SIX! Watson clobbers Yuzi for six and Rajasthan are almost home

OUT! He tries it again, this time gets a top edge and long on takes it.

Rajasthan 68/4

Now this gets swept away to fine leg and Rajasthan have won by 6 wickets.

Rajasthan 71/4 off 13 overs