Bengaluru– Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal smashed commanding half-centuries to lead Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to a formidable total of 205/5 against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Match 42 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday.
In search of their first home win of the season, RCB were powered by Kohli’s fluent 70 and Padikkal’s aggressive 50, with the pair combining for a 95-run partnership for the second wicket. Tim David (23) and Jitesh Sharma (20) added valuable cameos at the death to help RCB register their highest total at home in this campaign.
After being put in to bat, Kohli and Phil Salt faced early pressure from Jofra Archer’s pace. Kohli edged one through the gloves for a boundary, while Salt survived a scare on one run when he mistimed a low full toss from Fazalhaq Farooqi, only for Riyan Parag to drop a sitter at mid-off.
Kohli had his share of luck when he nearly chopped one onto the stumps off Archer but instead sent it to the boundary. Salt built momentum by hitting two boundaries off Farooqi and followed it up with back-to-back fours off Tushar Deshpande. Kohli was composed, flicking and driving effortlessly to help RCB reach 59/0 at the end of the powerplay.
Salt’s luck ran out soon after as he top-edged a sweep off Wanindu Hasaranga and was caught at deep midwicket. Kohli, however, continued his charge, bringing up his fifth fifty of the season off 32 balls with a series of calculated boundaries off Sandeep Sharma.
Padikkal, at the other end, impressed with elegant strokeplay, pulling, sweeping, and driving through the off-side. He was dropped on 28 by Deshpande off Hasaranga, and capitalized on the reprieve by lofting Parag and slicing Deshpande for two sixes. He reached his half-century in 26 balls, launching a straight six off Deshpande.
Kohli and Padikkal both cleared the ropes with confidence, but the stand ended at 95 when Archer returned to dismiss Kohli with a slower ball chipped to cover.
The introduction of the second new ball gave RR an opening. Padikkal lofted a slower ball from Sandeep to mid-off, and Rajat Patidar followed by edging one to the keeper.
Jitesh Sharma and Tim David provided the late push. Jitesh found boundaries with inventive strokes off Sandeep and Farooqi, while David cut and lofted one each for a four and a six. Jitesh then pulled Archer for another four, helping RCB cross the 200-run mark.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 205/5 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 70, Devdutt Padikkal 50; Sandeep Sharma 2-45, Wanindu Hasaranga 1-30) vs Rajasthan Royals. (Source: IANS)
