A partnership for the ages between Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaz Ahmed dragged Royal Challengers Bangalore back to life from 87 for 5 in a chase of 170. That helped them eventually script a maiden defeat on early IPL 2022 pacesetters Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.
Royals looked on course to successfully defend a modest total with the help of their new recruits, who, incidentally, were part of Royal Challengers not long ago. Yuzvendra Chahal was the evening's standout bowler with 2 for 15, and played his part in an athletic run-out of Virat Kohli, while Navdeep Saini dismissed Anuj Rawat and took a diving catch to remove Sherfane Rutherford.
It was the Rutherford wicket that brought Karthik (23-ball 44*) and Shahbaz (26-ball 45) together, and they smacked 67 runs in 5.2 overs. Karthik punished R Ashwin as he erred, especially with his lines, and Shahbaz rose to the occasion by pulling Saini and Trent Boult for sixes at the back end, and Royal Challengers completed their fifth straight win over the Royals in the IPL. It was also their second win in a row this season after opening with a loss.
Karthik, Shahbaz inspire RCB to victory
FE Team | Published: April 06, 2022 22:37:32
Karthik, Shahbaz inspire RCB to victory
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