On Sunday, April 13, the franchise Rajasthan Royals (RR) played Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the famous Pink City at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in a thrilling match. Rajat Patidar, the visiting captain, won the toss and chose to bowl first on a wicket where both captains thought it would improve later in the evening for batting.
While RR returned their primary spinner, Wanindu Hasaranga, RCB fielded an unchanged playing XI. Notably, the Sri Lankan took the position of Fazalhaq Farooqi, a pacer from Afghanistan, in their IPL 2025 opener against Jaipur.
Talking Points
1. Jaiswal finds his batting mojo, plays dominant knock
Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who looked pale and failed to make an impact in the past few matches, took a cautious approach early on and found his batting rhythm on a slightly slow pitch. He displayed his prowess with a range of strokes, including reverse sweeps and lap shots. Jaiswal produced a dominating batting performance against RCB spinners, finishing with 75 runs off just 47 balls.
His knock was quite impactful, as he scored most of the runs while the rest of the batters only managed 47 runs off 49 balls. Sanju Samson, who usually does well at the venue, struggled during his stay, scoring 15 runs off 19 balls.
2. Jurel and co. provide finishing touches; Pandya’s bowling stood out
Despite taking a cautious approach and losing momentum in the middle stages, RR clawed back into the game thanks to vital contributions from Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, and Nitish Rana in the middle order. As a result, Rajasthan finished with a competitive total of 173/4 in 20 overs.
Among notable performances for RCB, all-rounder Krunal Pandya stood out with his economical bowling. In his four-over spell, he conceded just 29 runs and claimed a wicket, finishing with an economy rate of 7.25.
3. Kohli-Salt give strong start to RCB
During the run chase, the opening pair of Virat Kohli and Phil Salt got Bengaluru off to a flyer, stitching together a 92-run stand for the first wicket. Salt displayed impeccable hitting during his thrilling stay at the crease, making a brisk 65 off just 33 balls. Notably, this was his best knock in the ongoing IPL 2025 season so far.
4. Kohli achieves massive feat in T20s during his knock
At the other end, Virat Kohli kept the scoreboard ticking and perfectly accelerated his innings as needed to keep RCB ahead in the chase. The chase master anchored the innings efficiently and remained unbeaten on 62 off 45 balls*. During his knock, he made history by completing a century of fifties in T20s, becoming the first Indian to achieve the feat. Only David Warner has more fifties than any other batter in the format.
5. Chase master Kohli guides Bangalore to dominant victory
In the end, Devdutt Padikkal, who arrived after Salt’s dismissal, played a solid unbeaten knock of 40 runs* alongside Kohli to seal the game for RCB. Consequently, Bengaluru, donning their iconic green jersey as part of their annual social initiative, tasted victory with an emphatic nine-wicket win, finishing the match with 15 balls to spare.
Meanwhile, here’s what both captains and POTM (Player of the Match) had to say about how Match 28 of the IPL 2025 turned on Sunday in Jaipur:
Who Said What?
The way bowlers executed the plans, it was nice to see. The way we bowled in powerplay was special. The wicket was not easy to bat, we targeted 150-170. The way I get my confidence from my bowlers was special. They are ready to bowl at any surface and any stage. Really enjoyed [Salt] batting from dugout. The way VK []Kohli bhai rotated the strike was special. We are not a team that looks at venue, we look to play positive and good cricket.
Sanju Samson, RR (Losing captain) said,
After losing the toss on a slow wicket, 170-odd was a really good score. It was hard to bat in the powerplay. Knew Salt and Kohli would come hard at us. They won the game in the powerplay. [Dropped catches] They also dropped our catches, we also dropped their catches. It is okay, they batted better.
Have to give it to RCB, their intent was better. Got to say toss helped. I would have liked to take this game to the 19th or 20th over. People have been honest in saying they committed some mistakes. We are in a good mindset. We have to put this game behind us, come back fresh and be confident about the next game. Need to keep this things aside and come back confidently.
Phil Salt, Player of the Match said,
Very pleased. Always pleased to contribute to a win, especially on the road. I gave it a chance early doors to try and hit it through off when he was swinging it. Me and Jofra have a lot of battles in the nets. He has bowled to me more than anyone else. I have faced him more than anyone else.
The pitch was a little slower and lower than anywhere we played. Had an opportunity in the powerplay to put a stamp. Rajasthan played quite well, our bowlers got the plans right here. They shut the sides and made them hit straight
India
