Out at Barsapara Stadium, Guwahati saw fireworks early when Rajasthan Royals blasted through the opening overs. Royal Challengers Bengaluru stumbled despite a gritty knock from Rajat Patidar, pushing them to 201 for 8. That number felt shaky once Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal tore into the RCB attack. Composure marked every RR’s move while chasing, exposing cracks in how RCB handles tight moments. What looked like enough turned fragile within six overs. Pressure built quietly before erupting beyond boundaries. Each wicket fell too late. The pitch stayed flat, yet answers never arrived. Chasing became strolling by halfway. Questions linger now around bowlers who blinked first.
What stood out this time was familiar trouble for RCB: shaky handling of the mid-innings and difficulty slowing down fast starts. When pressure built, their bowlers had no answer, letting Rajasthan set the pace. A six-wicket victory followed easily, adding another win to their unbroken streak.
Here are 6 key reasons why RCB lost the match:
1. The Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Powerplay show:
Out of nowhere, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi shifted the game. A teenage force, he ripped through RCB’s bowlers, 78 runs carved out in 26 balls. His fifty arrived on the 15th ball, tied for the third quickest ever in IPL. That surge broke the rhythm completely.
Out of nowhere, Sooryavanshi's 300 strike rate in the Powerplay, tearing through RCB’s strategy like paper. That blitz crushed the target before it could breathe, handing Rajasthan Royals a grip they never lost.
2. Lack of powerplay wickets and control:
After Hazlewood struck, Pandya followed, but RCB’s bowlers let the start slip through their hands. Ninety-seven for one in the opening six, that number sits among the top five ever seen in the tournament. Momentum swung before lunch, really, long before drinks. The game lost its edge by the third over. Chasing felt like paperwork after that.
3. Middle order batting collapse:
Faster than expected, RCB's innings stumbled when Phil Salt walked back without scoring, a sharp twist that rattled the top order. Pressure built quickly, not from steady bowling but sudden collapse, leaving gaps where confidence should have been.
Things went downhill fast when RCB tumbled from 45 for one to 76 for five before the tenth over, wickets falling too soon without solid stands between batters. A calm spell by Rajat Patidar, scoring 63, helped steady things briefly, while Venkatesh Iyer chipped in later with an unbroken 29. Still, what happened early proved too much to overcome.
It was the wickets in the middle overs that really hurt RCB, slowing their momentum just when they needed it most. Falling short by 15 to 20 runs felt inevitable after that stumble on a pitch where others had piled on big scores. What looked like a strong start fizzled at the worst possible time.
4. Dhruv Jurel’s composed role:
Ice came from Dhruv Jurel, while Sooryavanshi brought the heat. Untroubled at 81 from just 43 deliveries, he stood firm when wickets tumbled early, first at 129/2, then again at 129/3. Because he held the innings together, Rajasthan avoided a stumble near the finish. Alongside Ravindra Jadeja, who made 24, his calm buildup closed things without drama.
5. Expensive spell from Abhinandan Singh:
Out there, RCB's bowlers didn’t have much backup when pressure built. Instead of containing runs, Abhinandan Singh gave them away freely - 54 in only three overs, no wickets, just a steady flow to the batters. That kind of leak, at almost 18 and over, came at the worst moment. With so little room to miss, feeding Rajasthan that many off one end shifted the balance completely. Defending even 201 suddenly looked out of reach.
Also Read: Records galore as Vaibhav Sooryavanshi lights up Guwahati with 15-ball fifty in RR vs RCB clash
6. RR’s disciplined bowling in death:
RCB pushed hard in the final frames. Yet RR’s bowlers stepped up when it counted. Brijesh Sharma struck twice, then Ravi Bishnoi followed. Jofra Archer joined them with another pair of dismissals. The 18th over crawled to only five runs. Just four more came in the next. That tight grip during the last stretch made sure RCB didn’t soar too high. A reachable total sat on the board. Enough for RR’s hitters to believe.
