Match overview
Royal Challengers Bangalore recorded one of the most one-sided results of the 2023 IPL season, beating Rajasthan Royals by 112 runs at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on 14 May 2023. RCB posted 171/5 after winning the toss and choosing to bat, then dismissed Rajasthan for 59 in the chase. WD Parnell took the Player of the Match award. Rajasthan lost 5 wickets in the powerplay alone, scoring just 28 from their first 6 overs, and the match was effectively over long before the final over was bowled.
For RCB, it was a result that papered over a mixed run of form. They went into the game having lost three of their previous five matches, including defeats to Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, and Kolkata Knight Riders. Rajasthan, meanwhile, arrived on the back of two losses from their last five, with wins against Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings providing only modest confidence.
Venue and conditions
Sawai Mansingh Stadium has hosted 97 T20 matches and carries a first-innings average of 165. RCB's 171 edged past that benchmark, which in the context of a venue where the surface tends to reward patience in the powerplay, was a meaningful total. The ground's average powerplay score is 46 runs; RCB's 42 without loss sat just beneath that but set a stable platform for the middle overs.
Capitains at this ground field first 60% of the time, partly because dew can become a factor in evening matches and partly because the chase success rate of 64% makes batting second historically attractive. RCB's decision to bat first and reach 171 made the most of an approach that cuts against the tactical grain here. Rajasthan's collapse to 59 all out, a full 94 runs below the venue's average second-innings score of 153, underlines just how poorly the home side executed their task.
The phase breakdown told its own story. RCB's death overs (overs 16 to 20) produced 51 runs for 3 wickets, accelerating effectively after a middle-overs passage of 78 runs from 2 wickets. For Rajasthan in their reply, there were no death overs to speak of: 0 runs and 0 wickets were recorded in that phase because all 10 wickets had already fallen.
How to watch
IPL fixtures between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals are available in the UK on Sky Sports Cricket, with streaming through Sky Go or a NOW TV day pass for those without a full subscription. Evening IPL matches typically begin at around 19:30 BST in UK time, while afternoon fixtures usually start at approximately 15:30 BST. It is worth checking the broadcast schedule in advance as timings can vary across the tournament.
Recent form
Royal Challengers Bangalore's form heading into this fixture was inconsistent. Of their last five matches in 2023 before this game, they had won two (against Lucknow Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals in an earlier meeting) and lost three. The defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders immediately before this match meant they needed a result.
Rajasthan Royals had a similarly mixed picture: two wins from five, beating Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings, but losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Titans, and Mumbai Indians. Neither side was in the kind of form that made the scoreline an inevitability, which makes Rajasthan's 59 all out all the more damaging. With the head-to-head series sitting at 17-15 in RCB's favour across 34 meetings, the rivalry has no dominant side over the long run. Both teams will meet again, and on a ground where conditions can swing a match quickly, the margins are rarely this wide.
