After a string of three consecutive losses at home, Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally returned to winning ways with a hard-fought 11-run victory over Rajasthan Royals in a high-octane encounter at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday.
Chasing a challenging target of 206, Rajasthan put up a spirited chase but fell short, managing 194/9 in 20 overs. Their innings got off to a flying start thanks to Yashasvi Jaiswal, who unleashed a fiery knock of 49 off just 19 deliveries, peppering the field with seven boundaries and three sixes.
The middle order added valuable contributions, with Nitish Rana scoring a handy 28. However, the most important push came from Dhruv Jurel, whose powerful knock of 47 gave RR the real hope of pulling off the chase. But once he was dismissed by Hazlewood, the momentum shifted sharply as RCB made their way back into the game.
Earlier, after being asked to bat, in-form batter Virat Kohli demonstrated a spectacular batting display. Kohli struck a fluent 70. He was well aided by Devdutt Padikkal, who scored a solid 50. The duo's partnership took RCB to a formidable total of 205/5 in 20 overs.