RCB tighten grip on IPL play-off spot with seven-wicket victory over Rajasthan; George Garton takes wicket on IPL debut as Rajasthan collapse from 100-1 to 149-9 in Dubai; Glenn Maxwell then scores 50 not out from 30 balls as RCB clinch victory with 17 balls to spare
Wednesday 29 September 2021 19:38, UK
George Garton was on the winning side on his IPL debut as Royal Challengers Bangalore profited from a dramatic Rajasthan Royals batting collapse and an unbeaten fifty from Glenn Maxwell to tighten their grip on a play-off spot.
Sussex seamer Garton was given the new ball but after conceding just three runs from his first over, the left-armer saw his second walloped for 18 by Evin Lewis (58 off 37) as Rajasthan raced to 100-1 after 11 overs.
However, Garton then had Lewis caught behind on the pull at the start of the 12th over, triggering a staggering breakdown of 8-49 in nine overs, including Liam Livingstone out for just six, as Royals limped to 149-9.
Maxwell (50no off 30) played patiently in a third-wicket stand of 69 with Srikar Bharat (44 off 35), before taking Chris Morris (0-50) for 22 in an over while bossing an unbroken stand of 26 with AB de Villiers (4no) as RCB eased to a seven-wicket success with 17 balls to spare in Dubai.
Third-placed RCB - for whom Virat Kohli (25) and Devdutt Padikkal (22) put on 48 for the first wicket - are now four points clear of Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians with just three league games remaining.
Rajasthan remain two points adrift of the top four after a third successive defeat, with Wednesday's reverse coming as they threw away a promising start with the bat on a good pitch.
Lewis - whose half-century was his third in the IPL but first since 2018 when he was on Mumbai's books - plundered 77 for the first wicket inside nine overs with Yashasvi Jaiswal (31 off 22).
Lewis then added 23 from 17 balls with captain Sanju Samson (19 off 15) but once the West Indian fell to Garton the innings subsided, with Samson, Livingstone, Mahipal Lomror (3) and Rahul Tewatia (2) out to the spin of either Shahbaz Ahmed (2-10) or Yuzvendra Chahal (2-18).
RCB quick Harshal Patel, the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, then took his tally for the season to 26 with three strikes in the 20th over, including Morris for 14 as Padikkal took a fine catch at deep cover.
Harshal had claimed a hat-trick against Mumbai on Sunday and was on course for the same feat on Wednesday after removing Riyan Parag (9) and Morris, only to be denied by Kartik Tyagi (1no).
Rajasthan only bagged three wickets, with Padikkal bowled by Mustafizur Rahman in the sixth over, Kohli run out by Parag's direct hit in the seventh and Bharat then caught at fine leg off Mustafizur at the end of the 16th.
RCB required 23 from the final four overs, at which point Maxwell ignited, racing from 28 off 24 deliveries to 50 off 30 - his second successive IPL half-century - as he struck Morris for a six, three fours and two twos, leaving De Villiers to sweep the winning boundary off Parag.
The IPL action continues on Thursday as rock-bottom Sunrisers Hyderabad take on table toppers Chennai Super Kings in Sharjah. Watch live on Sky Sports Cricket (channel 404) from 2.50pm.
