Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals, 11th Match - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Series: Indian Premier League, 2018 Venue: M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru Date & Time: Apr 15, 04:00 PM LOCAL

RCB registered their second loss of the season. © BCCI

Samson, MoM: Feel very grateful to play this tournament for two months of the year. Playing an innings like this is a dream come true. I'm feeling good, hitting the ball well. Would like to keep up the form and win as many matches as I can. Whatever my team wants me to do, I'll do it - whether it's fielding or keeping.

RR win by 19 runs!

We have to say that it's come down to the whirlwind of a finish that RR had in the first innings. 27 runs off the last over, thanks to Sanju Samson, who starred with a blistering 92* off 45 balls, and that took it beyond RCB. Not that the home side didn't look like chasing this. Virat Kohli's bat-swings said something about his intentions, and about that of RCB's, but if it was Samson in the first innings, Shreyas Gopal took over in the second. In a key spell, he took down AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli in successive overs and that was that. RCB stuttered thereafter, prancing towards their maiden loss at home this season.

to begin but all eyes on the run chase. I think Washington Sundar could give them an option at the top allowing them to play Colin de Grandhomme

poor show each time

's bowling implosion are inevitable @prat1204

0 0

Team changes: So in line with the slow Chinnaswamy surface -- I'm just tired of wailing about it now -- there's a change that Prakash saw coming in his preview. A spinner in Pawan Negi comes in for Sarfaraz Khan, who, let's put it this way, hasn't had the kind of IPL that merits a retention. Short sample size, yeah, but that's the kind of corporate mamba that this league is. But he's young is Sarfaraz and will find a way back again.

RCB opt to bowl

Pitch report

"It's really hot here, an absolute furnace at the Chinnaswamy. It's for the second time this wicket is being used in this IPL. Looks a lot drier and cracks have started to open up. In 2016, almost 200 was an average score but last year it was a lot less, around 140-150. Think toss is going to be make a huge difference. Whoever wins the toss must look to bat first and set a big score for the opposition and hope the sun plays its role," reckons Matthew Hayden.

Just saying ...

It isn't time yet when RCB can start calling Chinnaswamy Stadium their home again. With just the one win in the last seven home games, there's still some time to go. However, today presents a chance to go that extra yard, with AB de Villiers' tendency to shape-shift into something more carnivorous when he dons a jersey differently coloured. RCB play in green today for the environment but expect a lot of fireworks.

Interesting match-ups

- AB de Villiers has 485 runs in 13 innings at 48.50 [Strike rate 140.98, 6 X 50s, HS - 79*] vs Rajasthan Royals - most by a player against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL

- Virat Kohli has scored 78 runs off 66 balls from Dhawal Kulkarni and has been dismissed four times

Head-to-head

RCB lead RR 8-7 in the 16 match-ups between them, with one ending in no-result.

It's time to start ...

Hello and welcome to the live blog of the match between RCB and RR in Bengaluru.

Rajasthan Royals have had an odd start to their IPL return. In Hyderabad, their batsmen didn't turn up, leaving the bowlers with very little to defend, and the win at home came after DLS method gave them a nudge and set a slightly out-of-bounds six-over target for Delhi Daredevils. They touched down in Bengaluru with two points and confidence in tow, and caught Friday's game where a high-spec RCB engine began to rev-up after a cold start in Kolkata.

What RR also witnessed was that their biggest IPL bully - AB de Villiers - hit the ground running with a match-winning half century. AB's 40-ball 57 included a devastating onslaught in young Mujeeb Ur Rahman's final over that swung the game in RCB's favour. Before they can get to nullifying the South Africa's threat, there's Brendon McCullum at the top, who has a free pass to swing at anything directed his way, and Virat Kohli - who has so far succumbed to a part-timer's full ball and a promissing spinner's early contender for ball-of-the-season. At some point, the limited-overs giant will shrug off the slumber and play to his true 2018 self.

Ajinkya Rahane can take a cue from Ravichandran Ashwin on how well to rotate his bowlers, and hope for them to make life difficult for RCB's top-order. The spinners, in particular, will be under the microscope, if they're brought on in the first six overs. Rahane has a reliable option in Krishnappa Gowtham, who has bowled in the powerplay and is familiar with the trade of wicket-taking as well as run-containment in the early overs.

For RCB, Friday's biggest takeaway is the fact that their bowling unit clicked. Umesh Yadav dealt early blows and then Washington Sundar ensured there wasn't a late encore that would've made the chase a lot tougher. It's only a matter of the top-order putting on the sort of show they're capable of to bring the RCB faithful to their feeton Sunday, and find a sync between their batting and bowling performance - something they dearly missed last year - going ahead.

While Rajasthan Royals prepare to cut-short RCB's home joys, they will also have one eye on the unforgiving fixtures ahead. After Sunday's 4pm game in Bengaluru, RR play three matches in five days- a trip to Mumbai sandwiched between two home games from April 18 to 22. The result against RCB becomes even more crucial, considering the sort of toll constant travel and reduced rest can have on the immediate match days.