Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) indulged in one of the most exciting contests at the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 on Tuesday.
After electing to bowl, RCB put the brakes on RR’s innings before a late blitz from Jos Buttler took them to a total of 169/3 in 20 overs. In reply, the Challengers got off to a decent start with skipper Faf du Plessis and Anuj Rawat but fell off track during the middle phase losing five wickets for just 87.
It appeared that the match had slipped out of RCB’s grasp. However, Shahbaz Ahmed (45) and Dinesh Karthik (44 not out) held their nerves and did the unthinkable. The duo smashed quickfire knocks and helped RCB chase down the target with four wickets and five balls to spare.
Apart from Buttler, Karthik and Shahbaz’s show, another moment captured everyone’s eyes involving former RCB skipper Virat Kohli and Australian star Glenn Maxwell. During RCB’s tense chase, both the cricketers were involved in a light-hearted moment, Kohli was seen giving a back and shoulder massage to Maxwell in the dressing room, which the Aussie seemed to enjoy a lot.
Here is the video:
virat kohli gives shoulder massage to glenn maxwell pic.twitter.com/e0lMs6iBnY
— Sayyad Nag Pasha (@PashaNag) April 6, 2022
Meanwhile, during the run-chase, Kohli met an unfortunate run out after managing five runs from six deliveries. On the other hand, Maxwell is yet to feature for the Challengers this season.
Notably, ahead of the match against Rajasthan, RCB’s Director of Cricket Mike Hesson had hinted that Maxi is likely to be available for their next game against Mumbai Indians (MI) on April 9.
“It’s pretty clear from Cricket Australia’s point of view that no contracted players are available before April 6. So, regardless of when they arrive here, they can’t play before April 6. We have been well aware of that as every other side. We have planned for that. Maxi will be with us and available from the 9th,” Hesson had said in a video shared by RCB.
