With the Rajasthan Royals registering the third-lowest score in IPL history, fans are hilariously trolling the inaugural champions for the same. The 112-run loss in pursuit of 172 has put a massive dent on the Royals' chances of qualifying for the IPL 2023 playoffs.
Chasing a stiff 172 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, the inaugural IPL champions got off to the worst possible start, sliding to 7-3 with two overs as both openers departed without troubling the scorers. Jos Buttler's form in IPL 2023 has been a real concern, especially after winning the Orange Cap last year. Skipper Sanju Samson and Joe Root, batting for the first time in the IPL, couldn't make the difference that fans expected them to.
With four sixes, Shimron Hetmyer gave the Royals some hope before toe-ending the ball to Michael Bracewell at long-on. Hetmyer's 35 was the top score among all, and he was the only Royals batter other than Root to reach double figures. The final wicket of KM Asif was symbolic of Rajasthan's batting performance as he tried to smack a full delivery from Karn Sharma out of the park. It only resulted in Virat Kohli taking a comfortable catch at long-on.
Earlier, RCB reached a total of 171 on the back of fifties from Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell. Anuj Rawat's unbeaten 29 off 11 deliveries was equally critical as RCB risked finishing for a below-par total. He hit 18 runs off the final over of the innings to get the three-time finalists over 170.
Here's how Twitter reacted to Rajasthan Royals' 59 all out against RCB:
