Salt, Kohli lead Royal Challengers Bengaluru to nine-wicket victory

Opener Phil Salt smashed an aggressive 65 from just 33 balls and Virat Kohli compiled his 100th half century in T20 cricket to lead the Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a romping victory by nine wickets with a comfortable 15 balls to spare in their IPL match against the Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Sunday afternoon.

Requiring just 174 for victory, Englishman Salt continued his rasping form with five fours and half a dozen sixes while Kohli was in his run-chasing element without the pressure of a particularly challenging run-rate required.

The former Indian and RCB captain’s unbeaten 62 from 45 balls included just four fours and two sixes, one of which saw him reach his remarkable landmark 50, while Impact Player Devdutt Padikkal did exactly what was required of him with an unbeaten 40 from 28 balls with five fours and a six.

Earlier, the home side compiled a curiously conservative total of 173 for four, with opener Yashasvi Jaiswal top-scoring with an accomplished rather than devastating 75 from 47 balls with 10 fours and a pair of sixes.

Captain Sanju Samson added a subdued 15 from 19 balls, while Riyan Parag also struggled for timing during his 30 from 22 balls and Guyanese powerhouse, Shimron Hetmyer, failed to ignite in the closing overs, managing just nine runs from eight balls at the stage of the innings in which he usually thrives.

But for every struggling batsman there is a thriving bowler and not a single one of the six RCB bowlers conceded more than 10 per over, with veteran seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1-32), fellow new ball bowler Yash Dayal (1-36) and left arm spinner Krunal Pandya (1-29) all bowling frugal overs at critical times.

It was a largely underwhelming contest, with both teams dropping three catches in the field and somehow failing to move out of third gear, Salt excepted. The result moves RCB into a four-way tie at the top of the log with eight points, albeit having played six games to the four of unbeaten Delhi Capitals. The Royals remain in seventh place with just two wins and four points from their six matches.

RAJASTHAN ROYALS: Sanju Samson (capt, wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande/Kumar Kartikeya, Sandeep Sharma

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar (capt), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Suyash Sharma