Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), led by Virat Kohli, was fined for keeping a slow over-rate during their IPL 2023 match against the Rajasthan Royals at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday. This was RCB’s second minimum over-rate violation of the season, according to the IPL’s Code of Conduct. Kohli was fined Rs 24 lakh, and each member of the Playing XI, including Harshal Patel, was fined Rs 6 lakh or 25% of the match fee, whichever was less.
Faf du Plessis’ 62 off 39 balls and Glenn Maxwell’s incredible 77 off 44 balls helped RCB win the game by seven runs. They did this by putting up a score of 189/9 in 20 overs. Harshal Patel then stopped 20 runs in the last over with a potent spell of 3-32, leading RCB to their fourth win. In response, Rajasthan Royals could have had a better start because Mohammed Siraj got rid of Jos Buttler for a duck. But Yashaswi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal hit eight fours and one six in three overs. Jaiswal struck a big six off Maxwell, and RR ended the Power-play with 41/1.
In the next four overs, Jaiswal and Padikkal scored 51 runs, bringing the Royals’ score to 92/1 after 10 overs. But RCB was able to put pressure on the Royals with its tight bowling. Between 11 and 15 overs, the guests didn’t get a single boundary. Samson finally got rid of the pressure by hitting Wanindu Hasaranga for a four and a six, but the RCB pacer hit back with the next ball and caught Samson at short third man for 22 (15). Jurel’s counterattack of 34 runs in the last few overs kept the guests in the game.
Ashwin played a strange shot, got a boundary, and then went for a double on the next ball when 20 needed to be scored in the last over. After that, he hit another four, then tried to hit a big shot on the next ball but didn’t get much height and gave the keeper at deep midwicket an easy catch. With two singles off the last two balls, RCB sealed the win by seven runs.
When RCB batted first, Virat Kohli and Shahbaz Ahmed struck early. But Faf du Plessis and Glen Maxwell helped rebuild, and the power-play score went up to 62/2. Before Du Plessis was run out by Yashaswi Jaiswal’s brilliant straight hit in the 14th over, he and Jaiswal had made a 127-run partnership off 66 balls. Maxwell was out for 77 in the next over. RCB lost their way in the last six overs when RR gave up only 50 runs off the last 41 balls and took seven wickets to limit the home team to 189/9.
