Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) won even when Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli failed with their batting. RCB were thought to be hugely dependent on West Indian Chris Gayle who has been in superb touch in the last two matches. His scores of 87 and 84 saw his team through against Pune Warriors and Kings XI Punjab respectively. Royal Challengers Bangalore extracted a morale boosting 46-run win at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Monday night.

IPL 2012: RCB thrashed RR at Jaipur

Asked to bat, RCB posted 189 which proved beyond the reach of Rajasthan despite a spirited show from skipper Rahul Dravid. AB de Villiers and T Dilshan shone with the bat during their 122-run third wicket partnership. RCB’s batting initially lacked direction. The batsmen failed to maintain the brisk start and floundered in the ‘middle’ overs to allow Rajasthan breathe freely.  Ab de Villiers’ assault decided the course of the contest. His robust strokeplay fetched him five sixes and three fours. It was sheer power as he clouted the ball into the stands, taking firm control of the situation with adequate support from Dilshan.

Royals, who backed to themselves to chase after winning the toss, were off to a sound start with skipper Rahul Dravid (58, 42b, 8×4) leading from the front, but KP Appanna (4/19), replacing Arun Karthik, struck gold with his left-arm spin to stifle the chase. Royals eventually were restricted to 143 for seven as they suffered 46-run loss, their first in three matches here at the Sawai Mansingh stadium on Monday night. It was also a sweet revenge for Bangalore who had lost their home match to Royals.

Playing only his second IPL 5 match, the Karnataka left-arm spinner put the disappointment against Pune Warriors in Bangalore behind with his best T20 haul that included the scalps of Dravid, Ajinkya Rahane and Owais Shah. The 23-year-old bowled all his four overs on the trot by the end of which he had effectively killed the contest.RCB coach Venkatesh Prasad and mentor Anil Kumble had spent close to an hour with left-arm spinner K.M. Appanna on the eve of the match. He picked his lessons and delivered with a clever variation of flight and pace. The confidence that marked Appanna’s spell stood out as much as his ability to read the batsman. The blows he dealt to dent the batting put Rajasthan hopelessly out of the race.

Interestingly, Rajasthan’s only away win has been against Bangalore, by a rather comfortable 59-run margin on April 15.Equations have changed since, with both Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers rocking for the Daniel Vettori-led side. There is a sense of solidity in the team, with Gayle leading the show.

Tags: Cricket, IPL 2012, IPL 5, Rajasthan Royals, RCB, Royal Challengers Bangalore, RR