The Hindu : Sport : Rajasthan Royals keeps winning

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Rajasthan Royals keeps winning

G. Viswanath

Another sorry performance from Royal Challengers Bangalore

— Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

GOOD KNOCK: Opener Swapnil Asnodkar made merry as Rajasthan Royals posted yet another win at home on Saturday.

Jaipur: Rajasthan Royals outclassed Royal Challengers Bangalore to record an emphatic, 65-run victory on Saturday to retain its position at the top of the DLF-Indian Premier League with 16 points.

Making the semifinals now seems a mere formality, with Royals winning its sixth straight match in its backyard. Invited to bat, Royals amassed 197 and then buried its rival under it.

The dismissals of J. Arun Kumar and Misbah-ul-Haq for zero and Virat Kohli, all in the space of 12 balls, summed up the woes the visitor has been enduring since Brendon McCullum plundered 158 in the IPL opener at Bangalore.

Rahul Dravid demonstrated great character and played lovely shots to finish on an unbeaten 75 (6x4, 6x6).

Listless show

Earlier, Challengers appeared listless once the Royals openers had put on a century stand and thereafter Shane Watson bludgeoned everything that came at him.

Opener Swapnil Asnodkar, who reclaimed his place at the expense of Niraj Patel, threw caution to the winds and got runs by sheer luck.

Nice duel

There was a duel between him and the seamers to outsmart each other; the dapper right-hander succeeded in sending the ball over the wicketkeeper and the lone slip in Dravid many times.

Nicknamed ‘Goa Cannon’ by captain Shane Warne, Asnodkar showed his aggressive intentions with a firm pull off Zaheer Khan over mid-wicket.

Smith, who anchored the Royals innings with a 75 (49b, 8x4, 2x6), rotated the strike to allow Asnodkar to play as he wished. The first wicket fell at 109 when Asnodkar became Kumble’s first wicket in six IPL matches.

Watson did not waste time, picking two back-to-back boundaries off Kumble, as he raced to an unbeaten 46 (28b, 6x4).

Though Kallis bowled a smart last over to prevent Royals from touching the 200-mark, it was a remarkable effort and a winning score after having gone into the match without a practice session and a five-day break.

The match began with a two-minute silence as a mark of respect to the victims of the bomb blast here. The authorities also cancelled the pre-match entertainment shows and the teams also withdrew their cheer groups.

The scores:

Rajasthan Royals: G. Smith (not out) 75, S. Asnodkar c Misbah b Kumble 50, S. Watson (not out) 48, Extras (b-1, lb-4, nb-1, w-18) 24, Total (for one wkt. in 20 overs): 197.

Fall of wicket: 1-109

Royal Challengers Bangalore bowling: Zaheer 4-0-46-0, Praveen 4-0-30-0, Kallis 4-0-39-0, Razzak 2-0-29-0, Kumble 4-0-32-1, Kohli 2-0-16-0.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: J. Arun Kumar c Trivedi b Tanvir 0, V. Kohli b Tanvir 3, Misbah c sub (Taruwar Kohli) b Munaf 0 , J. Kallis c Y. Pathan b Trivedi 20, C. White c Trivedi b Munaf 10, R. Dravid (not out) 75, D. Patil c Jadeja b Warne 9, Praveen Kumar c Kaif b Warne 0, Zaheer Khan c & b Warne 1, A. Kumble c Rawat b Tanvir 8, A. Razzak (not out) 0, Extras (w-6) 6, Total (for nine wkts. in 20 overs): 132.

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-2,3-5, 4-31,5-40,6-73,7-73, 8-83, 9-118.

Rajasthan Royals bowling: Tanvir 4-0-10-3, Munaf 4-0-21-2, Watson 2-0-6-0, Warne 4-0-23-3, Trivedi 2-0-23-1, Pathan 2-0-28-0, Jadeja 2-0-21-0.

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