In a one-sided IPL encounter yesterday, Royal Challengers Bangalore swept aside the Rajasthan Royals by 10 wickets to take over the top spot in the standings. This victory continues RCB's impressive momentum with four wins on the bounce in IPL 2021. The match saw Devdutt Padikkal reach a career milestone with his first IPL century, while Virat Kohli etched his name in the record books as the first batsman to accumulate 6,000 IPL runs. The duo also established a new record for the highest opening partnership for their franchise. Furthermore, Padikkal joined an elite group as the third uncapped player to score a hundred in the IPL. Age-wise, at 20 years and 289 days, he is now the third youngest to achieve this feat, trailing only Manish Pandey and Rishabh Pant.
The game began with Virat Kohli winning the toss and electing to bowl, which limited the Rajasthan Royals to 177/9. The chase was a formality for RCB, who hit 181/0 in 16.3 overs to seal the win. The unbeaten partnership saw Padikkal smash 101 off 52 deliveries and Kohli contribute a steady 72 from 47 balls. RCB's bowling effort was led by Harshal Patel and Mohammad Siraj, who both took three wickets. Looking at the head-to-head history, RCB and the Royals have faced off 23 times in the IPL; RCB leads the rivalry with 11 wins to RR's 10, with two matches ending in a no-result. This latest victory marks the third time in a row that RCB has beaten Rajasthan.
RCB’s Harshal Patel and Mohammad Siraj took 3-3 wickets. So far 23 matches have been played between RCB and Royals in IPL. Of these, RCB has won 11 and RR has won 10 matches. Two matches did not yield results. This is RCB’s third consecutive win against Rajasthan.