Bengaluru beats Rajasthan by 11 runs for its first home victory in IPL

BENGALURU, India (AP) — Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally managed to win a home game in the Indian Premier League as it beat Rajasthan Royals by 11 runs on Thursday.

Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal scored half-centuries to power Bengaluru to 205-5 in 20 overs, while the Royals fell short again despite valiant efforts from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel.

Kohli scored 70 off 42 balls, with eight fours and two sixes, while Padikkal scored 50 off 27 balls with three sixes as the duo put on 95 off 51 balls for the second wicket.

The Royals finished with 194-9 (20 overs) for its seventh loss in nine games to stay eighth in the points table.

For Bengaluru, it was a sixth win in nine games and it moved to third place with 12 points, behind Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals only on net run-rate.

Put into bat, Bengaluru made another good start as Kohli added 61 off 40 balls with Phil Salt, who scored 26 runs.

Salt didn’t get the quickfire start as always, and was out caught off Wanindu Hasranga who returned to play against his old team and picked 1-30 in four overs.

Kohli and Padikkal then set the stage for the hosts’ tall total, placed at 156-1 after 15 overs.

Star-batter Kohli scored 50 off 32 balls — his fifth in the season thus far and 60th overall in the IPL.

He moved to second in the top run-getters’ list this season, now with 392 runs in nine games and behind Gujarat’s Sai Sudharsan (417 runs in eight games).

Jofra Archer provided the breakthrough in the 16th over, and then Padikkal was caught off Sandeep Sharma in the next over.

But Bengaluru didn’t lose steam — Tim David (23 off 15 balls) and Jitesh Sharma’s 20 not out off 10 balls helped cross the 200-mark.

In reply, Rajasthan started in whirlwind fashion — Jaiswal and 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi added 52 off only 26 balls for the first wicket.

Suryavanshi hit two sixes in his 16 off 12 balls, while Jaiswal smacked three sixes. The latter also hit seven fours and scored 49 off 19 balls before he was caught off Josh Hazlewood in the sixth over.

Nitish Rana scored 28 off 22 balls, while stand-in skipper Riyan Parag added 22 off 10 balls, but there wasn’t a big partnership to help Rajasthan sail through.

Krunal Pandya removed both Rana and Parag across the halfway mark of the chase, as Rajasthan faltered to 134-4 in 13.3 overs.

Jurel hit three sixes and another three fours to score 47 off 34 balls, but he didn’t get ample support from the other end.

Hazlewood returned in the death to dismiss Shimron Hetmyer (11) and finished with 4-33 in four overs, as Rajasthan lost its fifth straight game.

It equals the Royals’ longest losing streak in the IPL — it lost five consecutive games in 2009-10.

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