In a thrilling contest at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy stadium, the Home team, Royal Challengers, faced the visitors, Rajasthan Royals, in match 42 of the ongoing Indian Premier League.
Winning the toss, RR skipper Riyan Parag invited RCB to bat first and opted to field at the Chinnaswamy. Opening the batting for Bengaluru, Virat Kohli and Phil Salt came on the crease where on the other end Jofra Archer opened the bowling attack for RR.
After a successful powerplay with no wickets, RCB gave their best start of the IPL 2025 at their home ground. But soon in the 7th over, Hasranaga caught Phil Salt. Following his dismissal Devdutt came on the crease and formed a stable partnership with Virat Kohli who completed his 3500 runs at M Chinnaswamy today. The duo were explosive today where Kohli completed his fifth 50-plus score in this IPL, Devdutt also went for a quick fifty off 26 balls with a six.
Just when Devdutt looked set to take the game further away from visitors’ grip, a dramatic juggling event unfolded. On the very first ball of the 17th over, Sandeep Sharma bowled a slower delivery outside off-stump, Padikkal attempted an aggressive shot and slapped it through the off-side. However, the ball bounced more than expected and ended up in the hands of Nitish Rana.
Watch the video here:
Moral of the story: Try, try, until you succeed! 😉
P.S. #NitishRana’s celebration reminds you of which former #RR player? 👀
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On the 17th over first delivery, Devdutt attempted a shot but somehow due to more bounce, the ball didn’t go long and ended up a straightforward catch. But before Nitish the on-field fielder could catch it, a mini drama folded as Nitish fumbled and juggled with the ball multiple times in the air. For a moment it looked like he missed it but Rana managed his calm and finally held it.
The juggling act marked the end of Padikkal’s fiery innings, 50*26, and was a key breakthrough for the RR.
RCB vs RR Playing XI
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubham Dubey, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag(c), Dhruv Jurel(w), Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma
