An inspired penultimate over from Josh Hazlewood helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru notch up their first home victory of the IPL season, beating Rajasthan Royals by 11 runs in a pulsating encounter at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday.
Hazlewood returned figures of 4 for 33 and turned the tide with two wickets in two balls while conceding just one run in the 19th over, thwarting Rajasthan’s charge in pursuit of 206.
The defeat confirmed Rajasthan Royals' exit from the play-off reckoning, having now lost seven of their nine matches.
Coming in with 18 required off the last two overs, Hazlewood’s nerveless execution dismissed key batters, denying Dhruv Jurel (47 off 34) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (49 off 19) the opportunity to finish what they had so spectacularly begun.
Jaiswal’s blistering assault, which included multiple boundaries off Hazlewood himself, had raised hopes for the visitors after a rapid 52-run opening stand with 14-year-old impact player Vaibhav Suryavanshi. However, the teenager fell for 16 to a Bhuvneshwar Kumar knuckle ball.
Jaiswal launched a brutal attack on Hazlewood, slamming three consecutive fours followed by another pair of boundaries and a six over the keeper, but the Australian had the final say. Cramming the left-hander for room, Hazlewood forced a pull that was taken by Romario Shepherd at mid-wicket.
Despite a brisk 22 off 10 balls from Riyan Parag and 28 from Nitish Rana, Rajasthan faltered during the middle overs. Krunal Pandya and Hazlewood pegged them back further, dismissing Hetmyer and Parag as the chase lost momentum.
Earlier, Virat Kohli (70 off 42 balls) and Devdutt Padikkal (50 off 27) shared a 95-run stand to build RCB’s innings after a lively start. Padikkal was let off by Tushar Deshpande in the deep and punished Rajasthan with a barrage of boundaries.
Phil Salt (26) provided a steady start, while Jitesh Sharma (20 not out off 10) and Tim David (23 off 15) provided late fireworks to take RCB to 206.
The innings began with drama as Riyan Parag, standing in for injured Sanju Samson, dropped Salt at mid-off after both hands reached the ball. Kohli, meanwhile, found his rhythm with elegant shots and completed his half-century—his fifth of the season and first at home—in 32 deliveries.
Kohli and Padikkal accelerated in the 15th over, smashing Tushar Deshpande for 22 runs, including three sixes. RCB finished the power play on 59 and pushed ahead steadily despite wickets falling at intervals.
While Suryavanshi and Jaiswal’s efforts lit up the early part of the chase, Rajasthan ultimately fell short, leaving Bengaluru to celebrate a morale-boosting win before home supporters.
Follow us
