Royal Challengers Bengaluru opener Phil Salt was left pleased after coming out on top in a face-off against his England teammate and Rajasthan Royals pacer Jofra Archer, playing a key role in RCB’s fourth consecutive away win. The two sides clashed on April 13, with RCB securing an important two points through an 9-wicket victory in their 174-run chase.
While RCB looked comfortably in control for most of the 174-chase, the opening over from Archer posed a few early problems. Phil Salt was momentarily stunned by a sharp in-swinger on the very first ball of the innings, which snuck past the RCB batter and even the RR wicketkeeper Sanju Samson to run away for four. However, as the innings progressed, he adjusted well to the challenge presented by Archer.
Phil Salt’s powerful start, followed by Kohli’s unbeaten and well-timed 62, supported by a composed knock from Devdutt Padikkal, saw RCB climb to third on the IPL 2025 points table. Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals continue to search for consistency, languishing at seventh.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : “It’s the first game of the season here at Sawai Mansingh Stadium Jaipur. It’s an afternoon game, extremely hot, it’s a little breezy as well. One of the bigger venues in the country – 62m and 69m square boundaries, 74m down the ground. Looks like a good wicket. Last year, there were two games here, one afternoon game as well, both games 190+.reckons Deep Dasgupta and Varun Aaron
Toss : Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar won the toss and chose to bowl with no changes in the playing XI. Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson batting first also made one change in the playing XI as Wanindu Hasaranga replaces Fazal Haq Farooqi.
Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 75 runs powers RR to 173 for 4 in 20 overs
RCB did well to keep one of this season’s fastest-scoring PowerPlay sides to just 45 runs, even though they couldn’t break through with a wicket. The pitch played slow and wasn’t easy to hit through the line early on, and RCB’s seamers hit good lengths consistently to make strokeplay difficult.
They also showed tactical flexibility-using a short third man as a fly slip and a short extra cover for Sanju Samson. Yashasvi Jaiswal was the more fluent of the two openers, using his feet well and struck six of the seven boundaries RR managed in the phase. Samson, in contrast, found it harder to get going, managing just 13 off 16 balls.
Sanju Samson had a difficult return to a ground where he’s had a lot of recent success. Three of his last six innings in Jaipur have been half-centuries. This one though was a struggle. He was 5 off 11 before falling for 15 off 19. Dhruv Jurel was 2 off 8 and even though he picked up pace later on, with Royals scoring 47 runs in the last four overs, their conservatism came back to bite them.
Krunal Pandya was brought on right after the PowerPlay and immediately struck, stumping the struggling Sanju Samson. RCB leaned on their spinners in the early part of this phase, and Suyash Sharma should’ve had a wicket too-but Yash Dayal shelled a regulation chance at backward point off Riyan Parag, in an over that leaked 12. It summed up a forgettable fielding display from RCB, marked by seven misfields and two dropped catches.
Jaiswal was able to score quickly (SR 160) on a slow pitch because he has shots all around the wicket and doesn’t always look for the right ball to play them. His first boundary was a prime example, when he turned a back of a length delivery into something else by charging at Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He made good of his match-up against spin – he averages 169.5 against it since IPL 2023 with a strike rate of 148 – because he was willing to indulge reverse sweeps and the lap sweeps.
Jaiswal and Parag steadied the innings with a 56-run stand, but just as the pair looked set to accelerate, Dayal returned and broke through-deceiving Parag with a slower ball that he chipped straight to extra cover. By then, Jaiswal had moved to his third half-century at this venue, off 35 balls. Krunal, meanwhile, quietly delivered a crucial spell, finishing with 4-0-29-1.
Krunal Pandya got through his four overs with an economy rate of 7.25 as he made the most of a pitch that was slow and prevented the ball from coming into the bat. Yash Dayal too harnessed it with his back-of-the-hand slower ball, which took down Riyan Parag at a key point in the game.
Royals were building at that point, each of the six overs previously had leaked a boundary but this wicket shifted the momentum. A partnership of 56 off 39 gave away to one where only 21 runs could be scored in 16 balls. Jurel couldn’t get going. Jaiswal tried something extravagant – sweeping Hazlewood – to pick up the slack and fell lbw.
Jaiswal looked set for a blazing finish when he took on Hazlewood in the 16th over, striking a six and a four. But the Australian hit back, trapping him LBW for a well-made 75 off 48. RCB then missed another opportunity in Suyash Sharma’s final over-this time Virat Kohli spilling a sitter at long-off to reprieve Dhruv Jurel.
Just before he was dismissed, Jaiswal played the shot of the day, a scoop off Josh Hazlewood even though the bowler went wide of off stump to deny the leg side to him. The RR opener finished with 75 off 47 with 10 fours and two sixes. His partners at the other end made 47 off 49 balls with four fours and one six.
That drop proved costly. Jurel capitalised, hitting a pair of fours and sixes in an unbeaten 23-ball 35 that helped RR push past the 170 mark. It was still the second-lowest total for a team losing just four wickets since the inception of the Impact Player rule.
Phil Salt’s quickfire assault of 65 runs and Virat Kohli’s 62 runs powers RCB to a thumping 9 wicket win over RR
It isn’t just that RCB have options all the way down their line-up. They are happy to maximise it with Phil Salt (65) going out there and thinking about only one thing. How to hit boundaries. He got 11 in 32 balls and fell looking for a 12th. This is the way he always plays. This is why he gets paid. He is phenomenal.
At the start of the game, Salt said he had a plan for Jofra Archer. These two have never played against each other but have spent enough time in the same dressing room, going back to their teenage years in Barbados. When they went head-to-head, it became clear what Phil Salt wanted to do. Get across his crease and open up the leg side leg side. Two sixes and a four came this way.
There were other factors at play as well. Salt was conscious of targeting the smaller boundary. It was on the leg side for Archer. It shifted to the off side for Sandeep Sharma, which was why when he came down the track, he made room as well to hit over mid-off. Phil Salt’s power and willingness to put a low price on his wicket is often talked about. Here he was being clever as well.
Neither team lost a wicket in the first six overs but where RCB scored 65 runs, RR could only manage 45, this season’s second-lowest powerplay score for no loss. That 20-run difference proved decisive in the end.
The drop-catching bug carried into the second innings, and Phil Salt made the Royals pay, blasting 46 of the 65 PowerPlay runs with four sixes and as many fours. He was let off on 40 by Yashasvi Jaiswal, shortly after Riyan Parag put down a high catch that denied Sandeep Sharma a record-equalling eighth dismissal of Virat Kohli in the IPL.
The Royals’ bowlers, especially Jofra Archer, found appreciable swing early on, but by the end of the phase, they were at the mercy of Phil Salt’s clean hitting and bat swing.
Phil Salt showed no signs of slowing down against spin, even with the field spread. Phil Salt made room and drilled Wanindu Hasaranga through extra cover to bring up a 28-ball half-century, then followed it up with a six each off Hasaranga and Kumar Kartikeya. His blistering 33-ball 65, featuring six sixes, ended when he holed out to Kartikeya, but not before a 92-run opening stand had all but sealed the game.
Kohli, who had played second fiddle during the assault, shifted gears seamlessly. From 30 off 28, he scored 20 off his next 11 balls, including a pristine straight six stepping down to his former teammate Hasaranga. His third half-century of the season also marked his 100th 50 in T20s, a milestone only David Warner has reached before. Devdutt Padikkal carried on his strong start to the tournament, finishing unbeaten on a brisk 40 off 28 balls as RCB chased down the target with 15 balls to spare.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Sanju Samson the losing RR skipper said : Absolutely (asked if they felt 170 was a handy score). I think after losing the toss on that kind of a slowish wicket, batting first under the sun for the first 10 overs is tough in day games. We knew they would come hard at us and I think they won the game in the powerplay. Catches win matches. They also dropped our catches and we also dropped their catches (smiles).
No doubt we have to improve. Credit to RCB. Ball did come on better in the second innings. They were really good. We have been having some really good chats about improving and coming back strong. We have to leave the thoughts behind and come back positive for the next game.
Rajat Patidar the winning RCB skipper said : It was really amazing. The way the bowlers executed their plans, it’s nice to see. (Target in mind?) I don’t think so. The way we bowled in the powerplay, that was really special. The wicket wasn’t easy to bat.
We were targeting 150-170. I get my confidence from my bowlers. They are ready to bowl at any surface and at any stage, that’s amazing and gives a lot of confidence for me. (On Salt) I really enjoyed his batting from the dug-out. The way he was striking and at the same time VK rotating the strike, it was really special. We always look to play positive and good cricket.
Phil Salt Player of the Match for his ballistic 65 runs said : Very pleased, always pleased to contribute to a win. The venue was slightly different, pleased that I could put a stamp on the game for the lads. (On his duel with Jofra) I gave it a chance, early doors to try and hit through the off-side but he was swinging it quite a long way so I realised there’s only one area of the ground I could try and hit the ball.
Me and Jofra have had a lot of battles in the nets. He’s bowled at me more than anyone else and I have faced him more than I have faced anyone else. Nice to have a wood on him. The wicket was slower and lower than anywhere else we’ve played. I had a real opportunity in the powerplay to put a stamp. Rajasthan played quite well. Our bowlers definitely got the plans right here. They got a pretty good score but it worked for us today with the bat.
Two markedly different philosophies went head-to-head in Jaipur’s first game of IPL 2025. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have built their team to attack from ball one. They have batting depth down to No. 8. Rajasthan Royals (RR) keep going into their games with not enough firepower. They had Wanindu Hasaranga at No. 7. It might not be coincidence that even though it was one of their players that put on a clinic – Yashasvi Jaiswal making 75 of his team’s 173 – the opposition ended up winning.
In the two Power Plays. The pitch appeared to play a touch slower in the first innings, as toss-winning captain Rajat Patidar might have hoped for, but the Royals opening pair of Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal were not allowed to get going. In contrast, Salt effectively sealed the game with his onslaught in the first six overs, after which the chase was but a procession.
Fourth win of the season for Royal Challengers Bengaluru and all of them have come away from home. A comprehensive win and they move to the third spot. Opting to bowl, they restricted Rajasthan Royals to 173/4, courtesy disciplined bowling. Jaiswal top-scored for RR with 75 and Dhruv Jurel played a little cameo towards the end. It wasn’t a straightforward batting pitch though but as Samson mentioned at the toss, batting probably got easier as the game progressed.
Both teams didn’t lose a single wicket in the powerplay. While RR scored 45 in the powerplay, RCB raced away to 65 with Phil Salt alone scoring 46. The Englishman’s blitz almost blew the hosts away. Kartikeya removed Salt for 65 to break the 94-run stand but the Royals couldn’t apply any sort of pressure on RCB.
Kohli notched up a fifty, Padikkal scored a brisk 40 and the duo took their team home comfortably. And the drops certainly didn’t help RR’s cause. In the fielding department, strangely both teams were sloppy as plenty of chances went down.
RR hit fives sixes in 20 overs and in reply, RCB’s Phil Salt smashed 6 maximums. It’s fair to say that the game was sealed in the powerplay itself. RR won four out of five matches here at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium last season, not a good start this year. Their campaign so far – LLWWLL – and they’ll be eyeing consistency. RCB, meanwhile, have won all their four games on the road and are currently nicely placed – 3rd on the points table. They aren’t tinkering their combination and that’s always a good sign.
Rajasthan Royals are on the road again and will face LSG at the Ekana Stadium on April 16. RCB have a slightly longer break in the middle of their hectic schedule. They will face the big-hitting PBKS hoping to register their first home win on April 18.
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