THE shorter the game, the more Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were supposed to be in it. But a target of 63 runs in five overs was quite underwhelming considering the start they got and the batting resources on show. The Rajasthan Royals (RR) coasted at 41-1 in 3.2 overs before rain returned to wash the game out.

The teams shared the points in a must-win game for RCB, who were knocked out as a result.

Shreyas Gopal’s hat-trick was the inflection point of the first innings. RCB were flying at 35-0 in the first 1.3 overs with 3 fours and 3 sixes, only to go on and lose 7 for 27 in the next 3.3 overs. Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Marcus Stoinis’s dismissals during the hat-trick set the slide in motion.

A six over long-off was how Virat Kohli started the innings. The next ball from Varun Aaron, though off the top edge, went for a six too before AB de Villiers capped the over with two boundaries. It took Gopal’s hat-trick to mend the innings.

WHERE DID RCB GET IT WRONG?
Yes, there was no-result but RCB looked set for a defeat when the rain returned. Kohli was adamant about using pace upfront when RR had changed the match earlier with spin in the second over.

Opening the innings for the Royals, Sanju Samson and Liam Livingstone put on 41 runs for the opening wicket. Umesh Yadav and Navdeep Saini gave away 22 runs in the first two overs. Not an outrageous start by any means but RCB went with another over of pace, only to see Kulwant Khejroliya concede 18 in the third.

HOW LONG WAS THE RAIN DELAY?
Scheduled to start at 20:00hrs IST, the match finally began at 23:26hrs IST, the dot cut-off time for a five-over game.

But the fact that we got a game was thanks to the subair system at the Chinnaswamy Stadium combined with the excellent efforts of the groundsmen.
Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 62/7 in 5 overs (Virat Kohli 25; Shreyas Gopal 3-12) vs Rajasthan Royals 41-1 in 3.2 overs (Sanju Samson 28; Yuzvendra Chahal 1-0) – No result