[Watch] Ravichandran Ashwin gets run out by Anuj Rawat's brilliance to leave RR in tatters against RCB
Rajasthan Royals (RR) all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin was run-out without facing a delivery, with the side already in dire straits against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Jaipur on Sunday, May 14.
RR were reeling at 49/6 in their chase of 171 runs when Shimron Hetmyer cut one down to the deep point fielder, where Mohammed Siraj ran across swiftly and threw the ball to the wicketkeeper Anuj Rawat. Rawat intercepted the ball blind-sighted onto the stumps to catch Ashwin inches short of the crease.
The pair were going back for a second run and decided against it, leaving Ashwin to try and return to the striker's end only to be run out.
Here is a video of Ashwin's dismissal :
The dismissal summed up the evening for RR, who were eventually bowled out for a dismal 59 in just the 11th over.
Their total was the third lowest in IPL history behind Bangalore's 49 all-out against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2017 and their own 58 all-out against the same opponent in 2009.
Only two players reached double figures, and as many as four batters did not get off the mark as the Royals put on a sorry show in front of a packed crowd at home.
The defeat leaves them on the brink of elimination with 12 points in 13 games, including losses in four of their last five outings.
"I expected a tight match if we had a decent powerplay" - RR skipper Sanju Samson after embarrassing defeat to RCB
Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson was in disbelief after the side suffered a crushing 112-run defeat at the hands of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Jaipur.
Samson felt that the loss of their top three batters, Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and himself, in the first two overs of the innings set the team back to a position of no comeback.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Samson lamented not having a decent powerplay, which would have set up a close run chase.
"I think our top three were scoring a lot of runs, we go hard in the powerplay but it didnβt come out today," he stated. "You need to go hard in the powerplay knowing the ball was getting slower and older, thatβs the way me, Jaiswal and Jos have played throughout. Credit to the RCB bowlers for their energy and intensity. I think this was a target that could have gone to the wire, I expected a tight match if we had a decent powerplay."
Once the top three were dismissed, wickets fell like nine pins as RR were bundled out for the third-lowest total in IPL history.
The defeat makes their chances of qualifying for the playoffs extremely difficult, as they will need to win their final game by a substantial margin and have numerous other results go their way.
The Royals will take on the Punjab Kings in their final match at Dharamsala on Friday, May 19.