Excellent batting by Ajinkya Rahane and Saurabh Tiwary helped Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) post a challenging total of 191/6 in their 20 overs in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the M. Chinnaswami Stadium here on Saturday.
Rahane (74) and Tiwary (52) stabilised the visitors' innings after opener Usman Khawaja (16) departed early. Tiwary survived two catches and a stumping in the sixth over when Stuart Binny and Sachin Baby dropped him.
He went on to build a partnership of 105 runs with top scorer Rahane. Tiwary smashed nine fours during his innings.
Attempting a big shot off Yuzvendra Chahal, Tiwary was short of the crease and was stumped by wicketkeeper Lokesh Rahul in the 15th over.
Rahane hit a 48-ball-74 peppered with two sixes and eight fours.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (9), Thisara Perera (14) and Geogre Bailey (0) fizzled with the bat. Dhoni managed to hit a six off Watson in the 16th, only to throw his wicket away while attempting a big shot. He was caught by Parveez Rasool at third man.
Ravichandran Ashwin managed to steal 10 runs in five balls in the last over.
Earlier, RCB captain Virat Kohli asked the visitors to bat first after winning the toss but couldn't restrict them to a low total.
Though Royal Challengers managed to restrict their extras to seven runs, sloppy fielding cost them dearly with three catches and a stumping opportunity being missed.
Shane Watson (3/24) emerged the most successful bowler for RCB with an economy rate of six in his quota of four overs.
After taking a catch from Perera, Watson went on to castle Rahane with the first ball of the 19th over. Three balls later, he sent George Bailey back to the dugout in a caught behind wicket scalp.
Continuing his good form with the ball for RCB, Chahal took one wicket, giving away 38 runs while Chris Jordan was the only other bowler to claim a wicket.
Brief score:
Rising Pune Supergiants: 191/6 (Ajinkya Rahane 74, Saurabh Tiwary 52; Shane Watson 3/24, Yuzvendra Chahal 1/38) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore.
--IANS
sth/ajb/bg
