Guwahati, April 10 (IANS) Skipper Rajat Patidar’s fighting 63 off 40 deliveries and a late blitz of 29 off 15 by Venkatesh Iyer propelled defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to 201/8 against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 16th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Baraspara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Friday.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s innings started dramatically as Jofra Archer sent down a vicious bouncer to dismiss Phil Salt on the very first ball. It was an eventful opening over. Archer troubled Virat Kohli with steep bounce, while Devdutt Padikkal found early boundaries, including a streaky edge and a crisp cut.
Kohli responded in his usual style, whipping and driving with authority to relieve the early pressure. He took on Sandeep Sharma with a couple of strong boundaries. Padikkal supported him well, and the two put together a quick 45-run stand in just 17 deliveries for the second wicket. This briefly put RCB ahead, despite Nandre Burger’s probing deliveries that repeatedly beat Kohli with seam and swing.
However, the momentum changed quickly. Archer returned to break the partnership, as Padikkal (14) miscued a flick to long leg, where Shimron Hetmyer made a sharp catch. The turning point came soon after when Ravi Bishnoi delivered a cleverly disguised googly to outsmart Kohli, who was bowled for a quick 32 off 16.
Bishnoi struck again in his next over, removing Krunal Pandya (1), who hit a catch to long-off, where Hetmyer made another fantastic catch. Rajasthan Royals tightened their hold when Brijesh Sharma returned with a wicket, trapping Jitesh Sharma (5) in front.
From an early promising position, RCB fell to 76/5 in 8.4 overs, undone by Archer’s fiery spell and Bishnoi’s crucial double strike, leaving them in urgent need of a steady partnership.
Romario Shepherd sparked RCB’s innings briefly. He hit the first six in the 12th over, cleanly lofting Bishnoi over long-off on the first ball he faced. It showed his intent in what was otherwise a struggling innings. However, just as he started to pose a threat, Shepherd’s time ended when he top-edged a slog off Ravindra Jadeja to short fine leg. He scored 22 off 11 balls while wickets fell around him.
Venkatesh Iyer came into a tough situation on his RCB debut, replacing Devdutt Padikkal as an Impact substitute. Initially, RCB planned to bring in Suyash Sharma, but the batting crisis led to a change. Iyer walked in with his Madhya Pradesh teammate Rajat Patidar and quickly changed the pace of the game.
Patiday started cautiously with 20 off 22; he exploded to a brilliant half-century, reaching 50 off just 35 balls within three overs. The turnaround featured powerful shots, particularly against Nandre Burger in the 15th over. A smooth swing sent one ball sailing over long-off, and a quick pull off a short ball flew over deep square leg.
He followed it with back-to-back sixes against Bishnoi but was eventually removed by experienced Sandeep Sharma with a slower delivery on the pads.
Patidar, looking to go big, launched it high only to get caught on deep mid-wicket. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Iyer added some quick runs, including two boundaries and as many maximums as RCB reached in 20 overs.
For the Royals, Archer, Bishnoi, and Brijesh snared two wickets each as Sandeep Sharma and Jadeja took a wicket apiece.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 201/8 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 63, Virat Kohli 32; Ravi Bishnoi 2-32, Jofra Archer 2-33) against Rajasthan Royals
–IANS
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